Bitcoin remained above $79,000 on Thursday as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their eighth consecutive day of net inflows, while most major altcoins pulled back.
BTC briefly crossed $80,000, rising more than 1% since midnight UTC as traders continued to assess last week’s sharp advance. The relatively subdued price action has not erased demand, however, with spot Bitcoin ETFs drawing roughly $2.8 billion over the latest eight sessions, their longest inflow streak since April, according to SoSoValue.
The rally was initially supported by the U.S. Treasury’s decision to increase its purchases of long-term government bonds. The announcement helped Bitcoin break out of a six-week range and preceded more than $3 billion in short liquidations, while also improving sentiment toward Bitcoin and gold.
Bitcoin Rally Shows Limited Futures Leverage
Crypto futures activity picked up over the last 24 hours. Trading volume increased 6%, while open interest rose 3%. The long-short taker ratio reached 51.3%, indicating slightly stronger aggressive buying.
Despite Bitcoin moving above $80,000, futures participation has remained relatively stable. Open interest is hovering near 700,000 BTC, suggesting traders have not significantly expanded leveraged exposure. Lower derivatives positioning could reduce the likelihood of sharp liquidation-driven moves and leave spot demand as the primary driver.
Ether futures open interest increased to 13.53 million ETH from 13.10 million a day earlier. Even so, positioning remains well below the 15.68 million ETH peak recorded in May.
Solana has shown stronger derivatives activity. SOL open interest rose 5% to 67.96 million SOL, the highest level since July 9. The increase coincides with SOL’s breakout above $100, while a positive cumulative volume delta indicates traders are actively entering long positions through market orders.
XRP, GRAM, CRO and SHIB also recorded increases in open interest, whereas ZEC saw positioning decline.
Across most major tokens, positive open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta indicates buyers remain active. Perpetual funding rates are also positive but below 10%, suggesting bullish sentiment has not yet reached excessive levels.
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility measure, BVIV, climbed to 46% from 42%, pointing to increased demand for options and other derivatives used to hedge against price volatility.
Deribit data shows institutional investors are purchasing longer-dated put options as protection against downside risks, even while short-term traders continue to favor calls.
Bitcoin call options are dominating 24-hour volume, particularly at $70,000-$85,000 strikes. Higher-strike calls are attracting more activity than contracts below the current spot price.
Ether options show a similar preference for calls, although the $2,150 put expiring Sept. 25 remains the most actively traded contract.
Altcoins Deliver Mixed Results
Bittensor’s TAO was among the strongest performers, gaining 5.3% to around $247. The token has recovered from its August low near $185 and is now approximately 18% higher over seven days.
Morpho rose around 2.7% to $2.60, extending its weekly gain to roughly 19% as trading activity increased and appetite for DeFi assets remained firm.
Ethena’s ENA added about 2.5% to $0.151, following a 61% surge last week. Despite the recent recovery, the token remains substantially below its previous highs after suffering a decline of more than 90% over several months.
Zcash fell about 4.1% to $783, giving back some of last week’s gains. ZEC remains up roughly 41% over seven days after becoming one of the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s short squeeze.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index has fallen to 38/100, compared with 51 last week, indicating that attention is shifting back toward Bitcoin following its breakout to monthly highs.
