Bitcoin Holds $86K–$90K Range, Lags Behind Gold
Bitcoin (BTC) has edged higher since midnight UTC, trading between $86,000 and $90,000, but continues to underperform relative to gold. The bitcoin-to-gold ratio fell to 20.18—the lowest since January 1, 2024—according to TradingView.
The drop highlights investor preference for gold as a safe-haven amid concerns over fiscal policy and speculation around Federal Reserve rate cuts. The ratio could rebound later Thursday if U.S. inflation data comes in below expectations, potentially boosting risk-taking in financial markets.
Derivatives and Market Sentiment
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility, tracked by Volmex’s BVIV index, has stalled near 50%, signaling muted expectations for future price swings. In U.S. Treasuries, the MOVE index has dropped to 62.73, its lowest since October, typically a positive signal for risk assets.
SOL, TRX, and DOGE have seen rising open interest in futures markets. Funding rates for BNB, XRP, SOL, TRX, and DOGE have turned negative. The combination of higher open interest and negative funding in DOGE and TRX points to an increase in short positions.
Deribit options data show a continued bias toward BTC and ETH puts, reflecting persistent downside concerns. Block trades included call calendar spreads and strangles in BTC, and put spreads and strangles in ETH.
Yearn Finance Suffers Another Exploit
Yearn Finance, one of DeFi’s earliest yield aggregators, was hit by another exploit this week, with roughly $300,000 drained from a legacy iEarn smart contract dating back six years. PeckShield reported the stolen funds were swapped for 103 ETH, worth about $290,000.
Yearn confirmed that current vaults and contracts were unaffected. “The problem is exclusive to iEarn and does not impact current Yearn contracts or vaults,” the team stated on X.
This marks Yearn’s second exploit in December, following a $9 million theft earlier in the month. YFI dropped nearly 6% following the latest incident, underperforming the broader market. Total value locked (TVL) on the platform has fallen by over $50 million to $560 million since the first exploit.
