Bitcoin holding around $103,000 after rising from Wednesday’s level below $100,000. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) is up 1.8% in 24 hours.
Still, the major cryptocurrency remains in a technical downtrend from its Oct. 6 record high of $126,000, having formed a lower high of $116,000 as well as consecutive lower lows.
The altcoin market has fared even worse, demonstrated by bitcoin dominance ticking up to 60% after falling to 57% in September.
Several tokens remain well below critical levels of support including and both of which showed declines of more than 20% over the past week.
The latest sell-off was spurred by strength in the US dollar following rumblings of indecision from the Federal Reserve on the rate-cutting cycle.
Derivative positioning
By Omkar Godbole
- Over $300 million in leveraged crypto futures bets were liquidated in 24 hours, mostly shorts.
- Zcash leads growth in open interest (OI), while BTC and ETH show muted activity.
- OI in futures for prominent altcoins like XRP has fallen, while non-serious tokens like PUMP are experiencing double-digit increases, a dynamic often seen before the market declines.
- ZEC’s funding ratios remain deeply negative, indicating a bias toward shorts, possibly as holders hedge against a sudden correction following its strong rally.
- Bitcoin CME futures positioning is easy, with OI at its lowest since late September; ether OI has also fallen from record highs.
- Near Stale BTC and ETH Options on Deribit Show Downside Nervousness: Some BTC Traders Buy $80,000 Put Options.
Token Talk
By Francisco Rodrigues
- A new governance proposal on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid creates sharp debate across the protocol’s community channels.
- Known as HIP-5, the proposal seeks to allocate a portion of exchange revenue to support a broader set of ecosystem tokens, potentially changing the protocol’s existing fee distribution model.
- Right now, 99% of Hyperliquid’s revenue is used to buy back its original token, HYPE. HIP-5 would instead set aside up to 5% of total protocol fees for another assistance fund, AF2. This fund would buy tokens from new projects in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, such as PURR, Kinetiq and Felix.
- Decisions on which tokens to support, and in what amounts, would be made by HYPE actors through governance votes. The impact is estimated to be a daily reduction of $150,000 in HYPE buybacks.
- Critics argue that opening up protocol revenues to external projects could invite abuse. One user, Altoshi, said on X that HIP-5 “could lead to bribery” and could mirror governance issues seen in Cosmos and Polkadot, where some token holders accused insiders of draining DAO coffers.
- Others say the plan could boost developer activity on Hyperliquid and increase government participation. The proposal has not yet gone to a formal vote.
