Bitcoin climbed as high as $81,455 overnight, reaching its strongest level since May 15. The price later pulled back to around $79,850, while Bitcoin’s gains since August 19 reached approximately 26%. Most altcoins failed to follow the rally, falling between 2% and 3%, while the Altcoin Season Index remained at 34/100.
In the derivatives market, total open interest remained above $140 billion as trading volume increased by roughly 10% to $222 billion. Short positions accounted for 51% of overall flows, while open interest in Solana futures climbed to 70.88 million SOL, its highest level since early July. Despite the increase in positioning, selling pressure in order flows suggested that traders remained cautious on SOL.
Monero stood out from the broader weakness in the altcoin market, rising to around $464. The annualized funding rate for XMR futures reached 67%, indicating increasingly crowded leveraged long positions. Call options also dominated activity in Bitcoin and Ethereum markets, with the September 26 Bitcoin call option at a $85,000 strike emerging as the most actively traded contract.
