Bitcoin Remains Range-Bound After Fed Rate Cut; Altcoins Continue to Lag
Bitcoin remained range-bound following the Federal Reserve's 25 basis-point rate cut, briefly dipping below $90,000 before rebounding. The cryptocurrency traded around $92,346.65 and has spent the past seven days fluctuating between $88,000 and $94,000 amid the rate-cut backdrop, with no clear fundamental catalyst driving the movement.
Altcoins, however, have continued to lag. Coins such as JUP, KAS, and QNT posted double-digit weekly losses, and CoinDesk's altcoin season index dropped to a cycle low of 16 out of 100. The memecoin index declined 59% year-to-date, in contrast to a 7.3% drop for the CD10, signaling a market shift from retail-driven hype toward slower, institution-led trading.
Volatility measures indicate subdued movement in the crypto market. Bitcoin's 30-day BVIV was at its lowest since November 10, while Ethereum’s volatility index hovered near a multi-week low. On Deribit, indicators showed a put bias for both BTC and ETH along with calendar-spread activity.
Open interest in ZEC rose 16% to 2.28 million ZEC, nearing the previous record of about 2.32 million. The market also saw notable open interest gains in HYPE, SUI, and SOL, while BTC and ETH open interest remained largely flat. ZEC led intraday gains at approximately 9%, with AAVE, HYPE, and LIDO posting recoveries during the day, although overall weekly performance was muted.
