Major cryptocurrencies slipped from overnight highs during Asian trading, with bitcoin holding above a key technical support level even as market sentiment remains heavily skewed to the downside.
During Asia hours, the broader crypto market remained above critical thresholds, with bitcoin trading around $78,400 and ether near $2,290. Gains faded after midnight UTC as several major tokens pared earlier advances.
While U.S. equities and precious metals pushed higher, digital assets lagged, highlighting continued relative weakness across the crypto market. Investor sentiment remains deeply pessimistic, with the Fear and Greed Index at 17 out of 100 — firmly in “extreme fear” — as traders increasingly accept the view that October’s highs marked the peak of the bull cycle and that the subsequent pullback reflects a transition into a bear market.
Some analysts argue the downturn may prove temporary, pointing to bitcoin approaching a potential price floor near $60,000. Others are less convinced. A CryptoQuant analyst warned that market structure continues to deteriorate, leaving downside risks unresolved.
One clear exception to the broader bearish tone has been HyperLiquid’s HYPE token, which has surged more than 70% over the past week. The rally has coincided with a sharp rise in trading volume in HyperLiquid’s silver futures market, suggesting growing retail participation.
Derivatives positioning
Bitcoin’s annualized 30-day implied volatility remains above its 200-day simple moving average, signaling elevated potential for further price swings. Ether displays a similar volatility profile.
More than $300 million in leveraged crypto futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, though total open interest across crypto futures has stabilized near multi-month lows of roughly $110 billion.
Futures open interest in major tokens — including BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP — declined over the past day. In contrast, HYPE futures open interest jumped nearly 20%, indicating fresh capital deployment, likely skewed to the bullish side.
Perpetual funding rates for major cryptocurrencies remain slightly positive, pointing to a modest bullish bias. On Deribit, put option premiums for bitcoin and ether eased somewhat from Monday’s levels, though puts remain more expensive across multiple expiries, reflecting continued demand for downside protection.
Block trading activity showed demand for bitcoin strangles, a volatility-focused strategy, and ether risk reversals, commonly used as low-cost hedges.
Token moves
HYPE continued to outperform, supported by rising volumes and revenue, while parts of the broader altcoin market posted modest rebounds. Polygon’s POL token, along with LIT and MORPHO, recorded gains of up to 13% over the past 24 hours.
The rebound followed a low-liquidity weekend selloff that pushed several assets into oversold territory. In thin market conditions, limited order-book depth can amplify price moves, particularly among altcoins.
Privacy-focused tokens Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) failed to extend their early-year momentum, sliding more than 20% over the past week and a further 3.5% since midnight.
Another standout has been Canton’s CC token, which climbed 28% over the past week amid rising institutional interest. Canton is a privacy-enabled layer-1 blockchain built for institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization. In December, market infrastructure provider DTCC announced a partnership with Canton to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities on the network.
