Bitcoin briefly surged past $93,000 on Monday, sparking a risk-on mood across markets, though uneven altcoin performance suggests traders remain cautious about a potential near-term pullback.
The cryptocurrency hit an intraday high of $93,350 — its strongest level since Dec. 11 — before retreating to around $92,390. The bulk of the gains occurred around midnight UTC, coinciding with the reopening of bitcoin futures on the CME, leaving a price gap between $90,500 and $91,550. Historically, such gaps are often filled within a few days, indicating prices could revisit that lower range later this week.
Investor attention remains focused on bitcoin. BTC has gained roughly 1.3% since midnight, while broader altcoin benchmarks lagged: the CoinDesk Meme Index (CDMEME) dropped 6.4% and the Metaverse Index (MTVS) fell 2.3%. Equities and precious metals also moved higher overnight, reflecting broader risk-on sentiment following recent U.S.-Venezuela developments.
Derivatives Overview
Over the past 24 hours, leveraged crypto futures liquidations totaled about $260 million, with shorts accounting for most of the activity — a sign that bearish positions were caught off guard by the price surge.
Open interest rose 2–5% in BTC, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), XRP, and BNB, while ETH, SOL, DOGE, and ZEC saw flat to declining interest, highlighting selective risk appetite. Aside from BTC, BCH, BNB, and XLM, the open interest–adjusted cumulative volume delta for top-20 coins remained negative, signaling net selling pressure.
BTC perpetual funding rates have climbed above 10% annualized, reflecting strong demand for bullish exposure, while funding rates for many altcoins remain below zero. On Deribit, bearish hedging in BTC has weakened as traders increasingly target $100,000 strike calls. Block trades featured put spreads in BTC alongside call spreads in ETH.
Token Highlights
Despite bitcoin’s dominance, several tokens outperformed. Newly launched LIT, the native token of perpetual exchange Lighter, rose 3.9% since midnight, while AI-focused FET extended its weekend rally with a 7.4% gain.
Caution persists, however, as the average crypto relative strength index (RSI) has reached 58/100, approaching overbought territory, suggesting short-term profit-taking could occur.
Some tokens underperformed despite the broader rally. Zcash (ZEC) fell 2.5%, while memecoins Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE) dropped 1.4% and 4.5%, respectively.
The fragmented performance across altcoins underscores lingering trader indecision and ongoing liquidity constraints, conditions that have weighed on the crypto market since October’s liquidation-driven selloff.
