Silver surges on Hyperliquid as bitcoin stalls near $88K
Silver has emerged as a major market on Hyperliquid, signaling a shift in how crypto derivatives are being used while bitcoin struggles to gain momentum.
The SILVER-USDC perpetual contract traded around $110 during Asia hours, posting nearly $994 million in 24-hour volume. Open interest stands at roughly $154.5 million, with slightly negative funding rates pointing to active two-way positioning rather than a purely leveraged directional trade. For a crypto-native perpetual market, this activity reflects hedging and volatility-driven flows more than speculative longs.
Silver’s rising prominence is notable. CoinGecko data shows its trading volume ranks just behind BTC and ETH pairs and ahead of SOL and XRP. That a commodity contract is generating comparable activity to top crypto assets suggests traders are increasingly using crypto infrastructure to execute macro and hedging strategies that bitcoin and ether no longer efficiently capture. In effect, decentralized exchanges are being repurposed for broader macro trades.
Bitcoin itself remains range-bound. Glassnode data indicates BTC is in a defensive equilibrium, with cumulative spot volume delta turning sharply negative as sellers absorb rallies. ETF inflows have cooled, derivatives open interest has eased, funding is uneven, and options skew has risen—signaling growing demand for downside protection rather than bullish conviction.
The result is a market where bitcoin withstands selling pressure without trending upward. Price stability near $88,000 masks cautious positioning and limited leverage deployment, while ETH’s underperformance underscores subdued risk appetite. Meanwhile, the surge in silver trading highlights where traders are now pricing macro uncertainty.
Market Snapshot
- BTC: Hovering near $88,000, trading sideways as cautious positioning and persistent selling cap rallies.
- ETH: Around $2,300, lagging BTC with muted leverage and risk appetite.
- Gold: Extending its breakout, up ~15% over the past 30 days and more than 50% over six months, reflecting continued flows into hard assets.
- Nikkei 225: Flat in Asia trade; South Korean auto stocks swung on renewed U.S. tariff concerns, with chip-led gains in Seoul and Australia offsetting weakness in China.
