Bitcoin ticked higher in line with equities, but a sharp rise in open interest and easing volatility underscores growing leverage as prices continue to stall near the $72,000 resistance zone.
BTC gained about 1.2% after midnight UTC, mirroring strength in U.S. equity futures, where the Nasdaq 100 rose roughly 1%. The move followed a pullback in oil prices below $100 after Donald Trump floated a 15-point plan to resolve the Iran conflict, a claim later rejected by Iranian officials.
Even with the bounce, bitcoin has failed to secure a sustained breakout above $72,000 this month. Each attempt has been followed by declines back into the $67,000–$65,000 range. This repeated rejection has encouraged traders to position for downside near resistance, driving a disproportionate increase in open interest.
Meanwhile, select altcoins are outperforming. DeFi tokens such as LDO and ETHFI have climbed between 2.5% and 3.5%, signaling pockets of relative strength outside of bitcoin.
Derivatives positioning
Leverage continues to build across futures markets. Total crypto open interest has risen to around $112 billion, marking a one-week high. The top 10 tokens, including BTC and ETH, have all seen open interest increase by at least 4% over the past 24 hours.
Ether open interest has surged to roughly 14.55 million ETH, the highest level since late August. Alongside positive funding rates and rising cumulative volume delta, this suggests growing demand for long positions. DOGE and ZEC have also posted notable gains in open interest, each rising more than 10% over the same period.
At the same time, volatility is trending lower. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) has declined for three consecutive sessions, approaching weekly lows near 53%, pointing to a fading geopolitical risk premium. Ether volatility is also easing. On Deribit, put skew continues to weaken, though options markets still reflect some demand for downside protection.
Focus is now shifting to Friday’s multibillion-dollar options expiry. The “max pain” level sits near $75,000, potentially acting as a short-term magnet for price action.
Token performance
The CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) led gains, rising 1.9%, while the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) advanced 0.9%. The CPUS index is heavily weighted toward AI-related tokens, including TAO, FET, and Chainlink.
LINK rose 1.5%, while TAO and FET gained 4.9% and 2.9%, respectively. Broader sentiment in altcoins has improved, with CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season indicator climbing to 48/100 after sitting near 22 earlier in February.
On the other hand, privacy coins such as XMR and ZEC slipped around 1%, as traders rotated capital between sectors in anticipation of a potential market-wide breakout.
