Bitcoin continued its recovery on Monday, trading around $82,700 after stronger-than-expected Chinese economic data and a rebound in U.S. stock futures improved sentiment across risk assets. The CoinDesk 80 index advanced 1.3%, while decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens led gains across the altcoin market.
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near $82,500, up approximately 0.5% since midnight UTC. The move extended its rebound from Sunday’s low of about $80,700 and kept the cryptocurrency above the brief drop below $80,000 recorded on Thursday.
Altcoins posted stronger gains than Bitcoin. Ether (ETH) rose 0.75% to roughly $2,430, while the CoinDesk 80 (CD80) climbed 0.9%, outpacing the 0.35% increase in the Bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 5 (CD5). DeFi was the strongest-performing sector among CoinDesk’s benchmarks, rising 0.81%, with all six tokens in the DFX sector index moving higher.
The rebound followed a difficult week for U.S. technology stocks. The Nasdaq fell 4.5%, recording its biggest weekly loss since June as concerns about AI spending and mounting debt weighed on the sector. CoreWeave (CRWV) was among the hardest-hit companies, with its shares dropping 25%.
Markets recovered some ground on Monday, with Nasdaq 100 futures gaining more than 1% alongside advances in Asian equities. Investor sentiment improved after China reported third-quarter GDP growth of 4.5%, beating forecasts, while oil prices moved lower. Earnings from Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) are scheduled for later this week.
Crypto derivatives: Key trends
Futures activity rises sharply, but open interest remains nearly flat. Total crypto futures trading volume over 24 hours surged 51% to $146 billion. Open interest, however, edged up just 1.25% to $141 billion, indicating that trading activity increased without a comparable expansion in outstanding positions. Liquidations reached $329 million, little changed from the previous day. The taker long-short volume ratio remained balanced, showing no decisive advantage for either buyers or sellers.
Major cryptocurrencies see increased leveraged exposure. Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP all advanced, while their notional open interest grew faster than their prices. This suggests additional capital entered derivatives markets. Annualized perpetual futures funding rates were positive for all four assets, meaning long-position holders were paying to maintain their trades. However, open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta over 24 hours remained flat or negative, suggesting aggressive selling kept pace with or exceeded buying. This raises the possibility that the rally is being driven more by derivatives positioning than by strong spot demand.
Dogecoin, Uniswap and crude oil contracts shed open interest. Open interest declined for DOGE, UNI and crude oil perpetual futures despite largely flat-to-negative price movements. The pattern points to traders reducing their exposure and closing positions rather than building new downside bets.
Cardano’s price recovery contrasts with bearish derivatives signals. ADA rose nearly 1% over 24 hours, but its annualized perpetual funding rate remained at -8%, the only negative reading among the major cryptocurrencies. Short sellers are paying to keep their positions open, while CVD also remains negative. A continued price recovery could force some short sellers to buy back their positions, potentially adding upward pressure.
Crypto volatility remains calm despite a spike in the VIX. Bitcoin’s and Ether’s 30-day implied volatility measures, BVIV and EVIV, continued to indicate relatively subdued conditions even as Wall Street’s VIX rose sharply on Friday. Historical VIX patterns suggest the traditional market volatility gauge could move back toward normal levels on Monday.
Bitcoin put options dominate Deribit trading. All five of the most actively traded options on Deribit over the past 24 hours were Bitcoin puts with strike prices below the current market price. Such contracts are commonly used to hedge long holdings against potential declines, indicating that some traders are protecting their positions. Ether options flows were more mixed.
Altcoin developments
Arbitrum rises following stablecoin incentive announcement. ARB gained 6.7% to around $0.20 after the Arbitrum Foundation announced its Stablecoin Growth Program on Thursday. The initiative sets aside 2 million ARB for the first 10 teams to hold $10 million in USDG, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Paxos Digital Singapore. ARB has advanced 16.45% since the announcement.
Pump.fun recovers as trading volume doubles. PUMP, the token associated with the Solana memecoin launchpad, climbed 7.6%, recovering part of its weekend decline after falling to approximately $0.0039 on Sunday. No clear news catalyst was identified, but its 24-hour trading volume doubled to $215 million.
DeFi assets lead the broader altcoin recovery. Uniswap (UNI) rose 3.2% to approximately $7.42. Lido (LDO) gained 2.5%, while Ethena (ENA) advanced 1.6%. The sector’s recovery follows pressure associated with last month’s delay in the Clarity Act and declining yields.
Celestia and Starknet retreat. TIA dropped 3.9% to around $0.61 after surging 16% on Friday. Starknet (STRK) slipped 1% to approximately $0.06. CoinDesk data shows STRK’s market value has fallen about 25% since Friday morning.
Among other major tokens, Solana (SOL) gained 1.6% to roughly $106, XRP advanced 0.6% and BNB rose 0.36%. Cardano (ADA) slipped 0.15%, while Hedera (HBAR) declined 0.83%.
The Altcoin Season Index stood at 56 out of 100, down from last week’s peak of 63, which was the highest reading recorded in 2026.
