Bitcoin Holds Near $76,900 After Brief Drop as ETF Selling and Binance Withdrawals Persist
Bitcoin recovered modestly after sliding to approximately $76,300 during European trading, rising 0.2% to around $76,900 since midnight UTC. The rebound remained limited as US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $399 million in withdrawals for a second consecutive day, while Binance continued to face substantial customer outflows.
The wider cryptocurrency market showed mixed performance. Ether gained 0.6%, and the DeFi index advanced 0.5%. However, the CoinDesk Memecoin Index declined 0.8%, reflecting continued weakness among meme-based tokens.
Bitcoin ETFs Record Another $399 Million in Outflows
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced $399 million in net withdrawals on Monday, according to Farside Investors. This marked the second consecutive day of negative flows.
BlackRock’s IBIT led the withdrawals, losing $405 million in a single session. It was the fund’s largest daily outflow since June.
Selling pressure was also visible on Binance. Customers withdrew a net $4.72 billion after the exchange reopened on Sunday, exceeding the $3.64 billion in net withdrawals recorded on its first day back in operation.
The exchange’s withdrawal activity coincided with another security incident in the industry. Brazil-based Mercado Bitcoin reportedly lost approximately $40 million after attackers drained funds from its hot wallets.
Outside crypto, Nasdaq futures advanced 0.3%, while Brent crude climbed 1.3% to approximately $106 per barrel. The gains followed a 1.1% decline in the Nasdaq Composite on Monday as technology stocks came under renewed pressure.
US midterm elections are taking place Tuesday. Investors are also watching AMD’s earnings announcement after the closing bell and the US employment report due Friday.
Futures Activity Rises While Open Interest Declines
Crypto derivatives markets experienced a sharp increase in trading activity, with futures volume climbing 51% over 24 hours to $168.1 billion.
At the same time, aggregate open interest fell 1.63% to $134.9 billion. The combination of rising turnover and declining outstanding contracts for a second consecutive day suggests traders are changing or closing existing positions rather than establishing substantial new bets.
The election backdrop and the prospect of early results and media projections on Wednesday may be contributing to the increased activity.
Forced closures of leveraged trades also accelerated. Total liquidations jumped 171% to $382.6 million over the 24-hour period.
Selling accounted for 51.12% of taker volume, showing a modest bearish imbalance compared with the nearly equal buying and selling activity recorded a day earlier.
Ether and Bitcoin Futures Display Different Positioning Trends
Ether futures open interest dropped 2.18%, while ETH’s price declined 0.83%. The larger reduction in outstanding contracts suggests traders were closing positions and reducing their exposure.
Bitcoin’s open interest decreased 1.20% alongside a 1.23% price decline, indicating that its derivatives positioning remained relatively stable.
Their cumulative volume delta readings also diverged. Ether recorded positive CVD, suggesting aggressive buying exceeded selling, whereas Bitcoin’s negative reading indicated stronger market-order selling.
Funding rates remained positive for both assets and increased from the previous day. Consequently, traders holding long futures positions were paying short sellers to maintain their contracts.
Zcash Leads Derivatives-Tracked Losses
Zcash recorded the largest decline among the monitored cryptocurrencies, dropping 7.57%. Its futures open interest decreased 6.13%, a smaller contraction than the fall in its market price.
ZEC also posted the weakest CVD reading among major cryptocurrencies, indicating that aggressive selling orders significantly outweighed buying activity.
Funding remained positive but declined compared with 24 hours earlier. Long traders continued paying short traders, although the difference between the two sides had narrowed.
Across the broader market, funding rates were predominantly positive. Cardano’s ADA, Sui’s SUI and NEAR recorded some of the highest readings across Binance, OKX, Bybit, Hyperliquid and Deribit.
Hedera’s HBAR and Chainlink’s LINK showed the most negative readings, but only on individual exchanges. No cryptocurrency displayed negative funding across every platform examined.
Open-interest-adjusted CVD data also showed that sellers dominated most tokens. Tron recorded the strongest positive reading, while Zcash remained at the opposite end of the ranking.
Bitcoin Options Activity Shifts Toward Calls
Bitcoin options trading showed a slight change in direction, with a November 7 call at the $78,000 strike becoming the most actively traded contract over the latest 24-hour period. The strike was close to Bitcoin’s spot price, replacing the put-heavy activity seen in the previous session.
The November 27 $75,000 put ranked second, followed by a November 27 $100,000 call. Nevertheless, puts accounted for four of the six most traded Bitcoin options.
Election-related uncertainty has also pushed short-term volatility expectations higher. Implied volatility for the nearest-expiring Bitcoin options climbed to approximately 51%, up from around 43.5% for the November 4 expiry a day earlier.
Ether options recorded a similar increase, with near-term implied volatility reaching approximately 59%.
Short-dated options skew remained considerably higher than longer-term levels for both assets. This indicates that traders are paying more for downside protection through puts than for comparable upside exposure through calls.
Ether Options Market Remains Focused on Downside Protection
Unlike Bitcoin, Ether’s most actively traded options showed no balance between bullish and bearish contracts.
All six leading ETH options by trading activity were puts. The November 6 contract with a $1,900 strike led the list, placing it approximately 16% below Ether’s spot price.
The concentration of trading in put options suggests investors continue to prioritize protection against further price declines.
LIT Gains on CFTC Registration Plans as NEAR Slides
Lighter’s LIT token rose 2.3% after founder Vladimir Novakovski outlined plans for the perpetual futures exchange to seek regulatory registrations in the United States.
The platform intends to apply to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this month for approval as a trading venue and clearing house. Submitting the applications would initiate a review process, rather than guarantee regulatory authorization.
NEAR moved lower by another 0.9%, extending its 24-hour decline to approximately 7% and placing it among the weakest assets in the CoinDesk 100.
The token’s weakness persisted despite the NEAR House of Stake governance body’s Monday decision to lower the maximum annual issuance rate from 2.5% to 1.6%.
Zcash, meanwhile, recovered 1.2% to around $1,146 after falling approximately 8% from Monday morning. The earlier decline followed disagreements surrounding its community grants program, with the NU7 network upgrade expected this week.
DeFi Tokens Show Relative Strength
Decentralized finance assets outperformed much of the cryptocurrency market. Aave advanced 1.5%, while Uniswap gained 0.8%, despite several security attacks targeting crypto platforms since Friday.
Broader sentiment indicators remained weak. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index stayed at 46 out of 100, showing no change from the previous reading.
Its Fear and Greed Index slipped to 34 from 36, leaving overall market sentiment in the fear zone.
