Smaller tokens are outpacing the majors on Monday while bitcoin trades below $83,500. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost $681 million last week, and derivatives data shows traders churning positions rather than adding leverage.
Small tokens are outpacing the major cryptocurrencies, with the CoinDesk 80 up around 3% over 24 hours, more than double the 1.2% gain in the CoinDesk 5. Bitcoin is trading below $83,500 after hitting a high above $84,000 on Sunday.
Ether has added around 2.5% to trade at $2,560.
Institutions sell while small caps climb
The gains come from the thinnest part of the market. According to CoinDesk research, order-book depth for bitcoin and ether has recovered to pre-crash levels a year after the Oct. 10, 2025 flash crash, while altcoin liquidity has continued to erode.
Institutional money is moving the other way. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $681 million of net outflows last week, the most since June, according to SoSoValue. Spot ether ETFs have not had a day of inflows since Sept. 28.
Futures volume jumps, but few new positions open
Futures trading volume over 24 hours is $126 billion, up 81%. However, open interest is $145.8 billion, up just 2.44%, so traders are churning through positions faster while few are opening new ones.
Individual tokens differ. ZEC's price is up 6% and its open interest is up 7%, but only about 1% more contracts are open once the price effect is stripped out. NEAR has more fresh positioning behind its rally: its price is up 10% and its open interest is up 17%, which works out to about 6% more open contracts.
Bitcoin and ether leverage demand stays low. Bitcoin's implied volatility index, BVIV, is struggling to move above 40%, and attention now turns to Wednesday's U.S. consumer price index.
Source: CoinDesk
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
