Bitcoin Holds $86K–$90K Range, Underperforms Gold
Bitcoin (BTC) has edged higher since midnight UTC, trading between $86,000 and $90,000. Despite the gain, BTC continues to lag gold, with the bitcoin-to-gold ratio falling to 20.18—the lowest since January 1, 2024, according to TradingView.
The decline reflects ongoing investor preference for gold as a safe-haven amid concerns over fiscal policies and speculation about potential Federal Reserve rate cuts. The ratio may improve later Thursday if U.S. inflation data comes in below expectations, potentially spurring greater risk-taking in financial markets.
Derivatives and Market Sentiment
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility, tracked by Volmex’s BVIV index, has stalled near 50%, indicating subdued expectations for short-term price swings. The MOVE index for U.S. Treasuries has dropped to 62.73, its lowest since October, typically a positive signal for risk assets.
SOL, TRX, and DOGE have seen rising open interest in futures markets. Funding rates for BNB, XRP, SOL, TRX, and DOGE have turned negative, with increasing open interest in DOGE and TRX suggesting a buildup of short positions.
Deribit options data continue to show demand for BTC and ETH puts, signaling persistent downside fears. Block trades included call calendar spreads and strangles in BTC, and put spreads and strangles in ETH.
Yearn Finance Suffers Another Exploit
Yearn Finance, one of DeFi’s earliest yield aggregators, was hit by another exploit this week, with attackers draining roughly $300,000 from a legacy iEarn smart contract dating back six years. PeckShield reported that the stolen funds were swapped for 103 ETH, valued at around $290,000.
Yearn confirmed that current vaults and contracts were unaffected. “The problem is exclusive to iEarn and does not impact current Yearn contracts or vaults,” the team said on X.
This is Yearn’s second exploit in December, following a $9 million theft earlier in the month. Following the latest incident, YFI dropped nearly 6% and has underperformed the broader market. Total value locked (TVL) on the platform has fallen over $50 million to $560 million since the first exploit.
