Bitcoin started Monday on weaker footing as the weekend’s broad altcoin rally lost steam. BTC fell about 1.1% from midnight UTC, while Nasdaq 100 futures moved 0.3% higher.
Bitcoin was trading around $79,300 after declining 1.3% since midnight UTC. The cryptocurrency spent the weekend in a narrow range after failing to push beyond the $81,400 level.
The retreat came as U.S. equity futures strengthened, continuing the divergence seen during the previous week. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3% from midnight UTC, while U.S. stock markets remained shut Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
Altcoins had powered much of the weekend’s gains, but momentum has weakened. Bittensor (TAO), Kaspa (KAS), Internet Computer (ICP) and Celestia (TIA) were each more than 12% higher over 24 hours, although most of those gains came before midnight UTC. Since then, TAO has advanced 0.4%, LINK has gained 1% and NEAR has fallen 1.5%.
Derivatives Market
Crypto futures positioning has turned more defensive. The taker buy-sell ratio shows bearish trades accounting for 51.6% of volume, reversing Friday’s bullish reading. The shift may reflect renewed concerns following the weekend escalation between the U.S. and Iran, as well as expectations surrounding a possible Federal Reserve rate increase.
Bitcoin derivatives are also showing signs of reduced capital. Open interest has fallen to 670,000 BTC from 709,000 BTC Friday, its lowest level since March 23, according to CoinGlass. Annualized perpetual funding rates are approaching zero after previously holding a bullish bias around 8%-10%.
Ether and Solana futures are displaying a similar deterioration in positioning.
XRP futures open interest has dropped to 2.29 billion tokens, the lowest level since Aug. 7 and well below its mid-August peak of 2.78 billion. With capital leaving the market, XRP has remained volatile within a $1.35-$1.45 range.
Smaller tokens, meanwhile, are showing pockets of strength. WLD open interest increased 11% alongside a 13% gain in its spot price, a combination generally interpreted as confirmation of an ongoing uptrend. WLD also recorded the highest 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta among smaller tokens, indicating aggressive buying through market orders.
CVD readings remain divided among larger tokens. LINK, TRX, CC, SUI and ZEC are on the positive side, while BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, NEAR, XMR and ADA are among those posting negative readings.
Volatility expectations remain subdued. The 30-day implied-volatility indexes for both bitcoin and ether are hovering near recent lows, pointing to relatively calm conditions in the options market.
Bitcoin options activity is showing some downside protection. On Deribit, the $78,000 and $80,000 puts expiring Sept. 25 were the two most popular contracts over the previous 24 hours, while calls accounted for three of the other top five positions. Puts are commonly used to hedge against a decline in BTC. Ether options show the reverse pattern, with calls dominating activity.
Altcoin Moves
Bittensor was the strongest large-cap token over the past 24 hours, rising 13% to $266 on $568 million in trading volume. However, the pace slowed sharply after midnight UTC, with TAO gaining only 0.4%. It remains up 16.4% over seven days.
Jupiter (JUP) suffered the steepest daily decline, falling 9% to $0.2514 without a clear catalyst. The Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator’s token has faced sustained selling since losing the $0.33 support level last November.
Kaspa advanced 12.75% over 24 hours and 24.8% over the week to 3.418 cents. However, its $17.6 million trading volume was relatively small compared with its $947 million market capitalization, raising questions about the strength of the move.
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies also delivered mixed results. Dash (DASH) declined 5.3% since midnight to $67.56 but remains 63% higher on the week. Zcash (ZEC) slipped 1.74% to $1,206, while Monero (XMR) was little changed.
Arbitrum (ARB) dropped more than 10% over 24 hours to 17.17 cents after nearly doubling during the previous week. It was the biggest one-day decliner among liquid mid-cap tokens.
Chainlink remained one of the stronger performers. LINK rose 1% since midnight UTC to $13.37 and is up 18.6% over the past seven days.
