Crypto assets climbed on Wednesday, with bitcoin, ether and a broad set of altcoins posting gains, though derivatives indicators suggest the rally lacks strong conviction.
The move higher came as oil prices briefly dipped below $100 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said the conflict in Iran could be resolved within “two to three weeks,” offering a boost to risk sentiment.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose to around $68,500, gaining 0.4% since midnight UTC and about 3.1% over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) recovered to $2,130 after briefly falling below $2,000 last week.
Even so, the broader market remains in a downtrend that began in October. Sentiment has improved slightly following a prolonged consolidation phase between $62,500 and $75,000 since early February.
Altcoins led the advance, with algorand (ALGO) jumping 22% in the past day as it rebounded from oversold levels. DeFi tokens also posted notable gains, signaling selective risk appetite.
Derivatives positioning
Futures data points to a market lacking strong directional bets. Trading volumes increased 23% over the past 24 hours to $210 billion, but open interest held steady near $106 billion.
The divergence between rising prices and flat open interest suggests the rally is being driven primarily by spot buying and short covering, rather than fresh leveraged positions.
Ether’s open interest edged higher alongside its price, indicating some participation from leveraged traders. ETH and ZEC stood out with positive open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) and funding rates, reflecting active long positioning.
Meanwhile, ADA, XMR, BCH and SHIB showed weaker derivatives signals, pointing to limited conviction behind their price moves.
Options markets continue to reflect calm conditions. Implied volatility for BTC and ETH remains subdued, while risk reversals on Deribit still lean toward put options, signaling ongoing demand for downside protection. Bearish positioning appears slightly stronger in bitcoin options than in ether.
Token performance
Sector indices were led by the CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS), which rose 2.7%. The Smart Contract Platform Select Capped Index (SCPXC) and the DeFi Select Index (DFX) each gained 1.5%.
Broader benchmarks lagged, with the CoinDesk 5 (CD5) up 0.35% and the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) rising 0.69%, indicating that large-cap tokens underperformed relative to the wider altcoin market.
Algorand (ALGO) led individual token gains, followed by DeFi tokens MORPHO and JUP, both of which delivered double-digit returns.
Still, the uneven increase in open interest—particularly in ETH and ZEC—suggests that parts of the rally are being supported by leverage rather than widespread demand. This leaves the market exposed to a potential reversal, especially if new developments challenge Trump’s comments and shift sentiment.
