Smaller-cap cryptocurrencies are outperforming the major market assets as bitcoin remains stuck around $85,000 to $86,000, giving traders renewed interest in select altcoins.
BTW, the native token of Bitway, has emerged as the biggest gainer. The bitcoin-compatible layer-1 asset surged 25% over 24 hours, extending its 30-day advance to 170%.
Bitway is built with proof-of-stake consensus and includes infrastructure for decentralized finance (DeFi). BTW has also received increased social-media attention since Binance Wallet concluded its “Booster Season 5” campaign on Oct. 2. The campaign rewarded users for deposits and may have contributed to stronger retail activity around the token.
The move is part of a broader rally among smaller altcoins. Filecoin’s FIL climbed 12% in 24 hours, while LayerZero’s ZRO gained 10%. Both have advanced by at least 50% over the past four weeks. Midnight’s NIGHT was also up 8% over the same period.
At the other end of the market, SKY, VVV and DASH were the three weakest performers among the 100 largest tokens by market value.
BTC Faces Another Key Test
Bitcoin has yet to escape its recent trading range. BTC was changing hands at approximately $85,900 at the time of writing after dipping toward $85,000 earlier in the session.
Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at TheFxPro, warned that a break of nearby support could accelerate the decline.
“A break below $84K would signal a victory for the bears, and a break below the recent local lows at $83K would confirm this with even greater certainty. In this scenario, the leading cryptocurrency could fall to $80K fairly quickly,” he said.
Bitcoin was quoted at $86,199.35 in the market data, while ether was trading at $2,712.86.
Leverage Shows Signs of Cooling
Derivatives data indicates that traders have not significantly increased their bitcoin exposure. BTC open interest was nearly unchanged at $21.9 billion, compared with $22.0 billion previously.
Funding rates have also moderated. They now range broadly from 0% to 5% annualized across venues, compared with the earlier 4% to 10% range. The three-month annualized basis remained between 5% and 6%.
The figures suggest that positioning has stabilized following Friday’s increase. Leveraged longs remain active, but funding costs are no longer as elevated.
Options traders continue to favor calls. The 24-hour put/call volume ratio was 62/38, indicating greater call activity. Meanwhile, the one-week 25-delta skew remained negative at about -2%.
The at-the-money options term structure continued to trade in contango. Front-end implied volatility was around 24% to 25%, increasing to approximately 39% by late 2027.
Liquidations remained significant. CoinGlass recorded $163 million in liquidations over the previous 24 hours, with longs accounting for 63% and shorts 27%.
Bitcoin represented $51 million of the liquidated positions, followed by other cryptocurrencies at $21 million and ether at $19 million. The Binance liquidation heatmap highlighted $87,150 as an important level to monitor if BTC moves higher.
Privacy Coins Buck the Broader Weakness
Privacy-focused tokens were among the stronger performers during the session. Monero (XMR) rose 1.9% to $557, while Zcash (ZEC) advanced 2.5%, moving back above $1,350.
The gains suggest continued demand for anonymous layer-1 assets despite changes in the broader macro backdrop.
NEAR Protocol also stood out among altcoins. NEAR climbed 4.5% over 24 hours to $5.25 as buyers returned following the sharp market-wide decline seen last week.
Other tokens continued to face selling pressure. Rain Protocol’s RAIN dropped 5.6%, with the decline coming as supply emissions and broader profit-taking weighed on speculative low-cap altcoins.
Major DeFi assets were comparatively quiet. Uniswap (UNI) fell 1.4% to $8.89, while Chainlink (LINK) declined 1.2% to $14.
Sui (SUI) also moved lower, losing 3.2% over 24 hours to trade near $1.20. The layer-1 token continues to consolidate after several volatile sessions.
For now, the market remains selective. Smaller tokens are generating the strongest gains, but bitcoin’s inability to establish a sustained move beyond its current range continues to define the broader market backdrop.
