Crypto Market Update: Altcoins Surge While Bitcoin Derivatives Signal Caution; YZY Traders Take Losses
The cryptocurrency market showed mixed performance on Thursday, with altcoins leading gains while Bitcoin (BTC) faces potential resistance from derivative activity.
The CoinDesk 80 Index, which tracks a broad set of smaller tokens, climbed 4% in the past 24 hours, while the CoinDesk 20 Index of major cryptocurrencies gained just under 1%. Bitcoin approached $113,600, with on-chain data suggesting sellers could reemerge near this key level.
“Bitcoin is forming its third consecutive rising daily candle, trading above $113K this morning,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. “Altcoin growth and stock market gains have fueled risk appetite, while BTC’s earlier dip to $110K has renewed buyer interest.”
Derivatives Snapshot
Despite Bitcoin’s modest gains, derivatives data point to caution: open interest (OI) in USDT- and USD-denominated perpetual futures across Binance, Bybit, OKX, Deribit, and Hyperliquid has fallen, accompanied by low spot market volumes. Ether exhibits a similar trend.
- Futures OI for SOL, DOGE, and ADA increased, while other major coins saw outflows.
- Funding rates across most major tokens dropped near zero, signaling neutral sentiment.
- On the CME, BTC futures OI remains below December highs; the three-month annualized basis is under 10%, while BTC options OI surged to 42.89K BTC, the highest since May 29.
- ETH CME futures OI rose to a record 2.2 million ETH, reflecting strong institutional interest.
- Deribit shows BTC put options trading at higher premiums than calls across all expiries, highlighting a bearish tilt. ETH’s call bias has weakened since earlier this week.
- On OTC network Paradigm, block trades included BTC butterfly options and an outright ETH call at the $5,000 strike for Aug. 30 expiry.
Token Spotlight: YZY
The Solana-based YZY memecoin, linked to Ye (Kanye West), has left the majority of buyers with losses. Bubblemaps reports more than 70,000 wallets in the red following the token’s debut, which was promoted as part of the “YZY Money” ecosystem with payment rails and a branded card.
- 51,800+ wallets lost $1–$1,000
- 5,269 wallets lost $1,000–$10,000
- 1,025 wallets lost $10,000–$100,000
- 108 wallets suffered six-figure losses; three traders lost over $1 million each
- Only 11 wallets earned $1 million+, 99 gained over $100,000, and 2,541 earned at least $1,000—meaning less than 0.1% of traders captured meaningful upside
Structural issues amplified losses: 70% of supply was reserved for Yeezy Investments LLC, 20% sold publicly, and 10% allocated for liquidity. The pool, seeded solely with YZY tokens and lacking a stablecoin pair, left the market vulnerable to rapid withdrawals, similar to Argentina’s short-lived LIBRA token.
YZY’s outcome reflects a common pattern for celebrity-backed memecoins: insiders capture most gains, while retail investors face concentrated risk.
