Bitcoin Tops $92K as Fed Rate-Cut Optimism Lifts Market, Altcoins Remain Weak
Bitcoin surged above $92,000 during Monday’s Asia session, fueled by expectations of a likely Federal Reserve rate cut this week, while altcoins continued to lag behind.
After lingering below $90,000 over the weekend, Bitcoin has reversed Friday’s sell-off and is now approaching last week’s high of $94,200. U.S. equity futures also gained around 0.2% from Sunday’s open, with traders pricing in a 25-basis-point Fed cut on Wednesday—CME data currently assigns an 87% probability.
Derivatives and Market Positioning
Bitcoin and Ether have risen 3%-4% over the past 24 hours, yet the broader altcoin market remains subdued amid weak speculative interest.
- BTC’s 30-day implied volatility (BVIV) holds steady at ~50%, indicating calm ahead of the Fed announcement.
- ASTER and ENA led open interest growth in major token futures.
- Perpetual funding rates for BTC and ETH remain positive, reflecting bullish leveraged positioning, partly due to unwinding short futures from cash-and-carry arbitrage.
- BTC and ETH puts continue to trade more expensively than calls on Deribit, suggesting lingering downside fears. The $20K BTC put is currently the second-most popular June 2026 options bet.
- Block flows show strong demand for BTC call spreads and strangles, while ETH call calendar spreads dominate 24-hour flows.
Altcoin Market Snapshot
The “altcoin season” indicator plunged to a record low of 19/100, highlighting investor reluctance to speculate beyond market leaders. Since Dec. 1, the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index has risen 1.34%, while the broader CoinDesk 80 (CD80) index has fallen 1.37%.
Sector performance highlights:
- Memecoins and metaverse tokens continue to underperform, down 53% and 62%, respectively.
- Privacy coins are a standout, with Zcash up 17% in 24 hours, extending a 600% year-to-date rally.
- TIA, the native token of its data-availability blockchain, has lost more than 87% this year amid low activity and recent layoffs.
Overall, Bitcoin and major tokens show renewed strength ahead of the Fed decision, while the broader altcoin market remains cautious and largely inactive.
