Bitcoin steadies near $78,000 as gold rallies, altcoins consolidate after best week in 3 years

Bitcoin BTC $ 77,382.48 is trading around $77,800 on Monday morning, little changed since midnight UTC as markets digest one of the sharpest weekly rallies in over three years.

The pause follows a week in which BTC surged roughly 24% from below $63,000 in its best performance since March 2023, after the U.S. Treasury's decision to double buybacks of long-dated bonds cracked a six-week trading range and triggered more than $3 billion in short liquidations in 24 hours.

Equities lagged as crypto and gold rallied in tandem last week, with the precious metal adding around 0.8% Monday morning and sitting near record highs as Treasury Secretary Bessent's debt management strategy continued to weigh on long-dated yields. The 30-year bond yield briefly touched a 19-year high before the buyback announcement pulled it back.

Altcoins are broadly level to slightly lower since midnight, a consolidation rather than a reversal. Bitcoin dominance holds near 59.2% and the Altcoin Season index sits at 42/100, up slightly from 33 on Friday but still firmly in Bitcoin territory. Last week's altcoin outperformance was selective, not a broad rotation.

Derivatives positioning

BTC open interest slides as the spot price rallies: Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) declined to a two-month low of 715K BTC from the Aug. 18 high of 762K BTC, according to data source Coinglass. The decline shows that last week’s surge was driven by spot buying and unwinding of shorts rather than leverage traders taking outright bullish bets.

Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) declined to a two-month low of 715K BTC from the Aug. 18 high of 762K BTC, according to data source Coinglass. The decline shows that last week’s surge was driven by spot buying and unwinding of shorts rather than leverage traders taking outright bullish bets. Other majors reveal a similar divergence: ETH, SOL and XRP futures revealed a similar pattern of OI declines amid the price rally.

ETH, SOL and XRP futures revealed a similar pattern of OI declines amid the price rally. ZEC’s OI surges with its price: Privacy-focused zcash (ZEC) experienced the opposite, with OI climbing to 2.24 million tokens from 1.81 million tokens a week ago. ZEC’s price rose over 70% in this time frame. A rise in OI alongside a rise in price is said to confirm the uptrend.

Privacy-focused zcash (ZEC) experienced the opposite, with OI climbing to 2.24 million tokens from 1.81 million tokens a week ago. ZEC’s price rose over 70% in this time frame. A rise in OI alongside a rise in price is said to confirm the uptrend. Aggressive buying in ZEC : ZEC bulls were the most aggressive among other major cryptocurrencies. The OI-adjusted weekly cumulative volume delta (CVD) is most positive among majors, a sign that buyers have been leading the price action by trading at market orders rather than passive limit orders.

: ZEC bulls were the most aggressive among other major cryptocurrencies. The OI-adjusted weekly cumulative volume delta (CVD) is most positive among majors, a sign that buyers have been leading the price action by trading at market orders rather than passive limit orders. No signs of overheating: The market looks far from overheated, with annualized funding rates for BTC, ETH and other majors, hovering around 10%. It shows a bias for bullish bets, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The market looks far from overheated, with annualized funding rates for BTC, ETH and other majors, hovering around 10%. It shows a bias for bullish bets, but nothing out of the ordinary. Implied volatility explodes higher: BTC’s 30-day implied volatility, as measured by the BVIV index, has climbed to an annualized 47% from 36% a week ago, an unusual rise alongside the price rally. The measure is widely seen as a “fear index” that typically jumps during price selloffs. Ether’s EVIV index has surged, too.

BTC’s 30-day implied volatility, as measured by the BVIV index, has climbed to an annualized 47% from 36% a week ago, an unusual rise alongside the price rally. The measure is widely seen as a “fear index” that typically jumps during price selloffs. Ether’s EVIV index has surged, too. Cautious optimism: In Deribit-listed options market, the call-put skew flipped positive at the front-end. It shows that calls or bullish bets expiring in the short term are now pricier than puts. The 24-hour volume profile, however, paints a mixed picture with the $70,000 put topping the most active list followed by some call options. All this points to cautious optimism.

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