Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Pulls Back, PENGU Open Interest Surges

Bitcoin (BTC) pulled backmost from overnight highs supra $116,000 to nether $115,000 arsenic the Dollar Index (DXY) remains dependable contempt expectations of an imminent Fed complaint cut.

Analysts remained optimistic saying they expect caller beingness highs successful BTC and outsized gains successful prime fewer tokens, specified arsenic HYPE, SOL and ENA.

Focus has already shifted to smaller names. Tokens specified arsenic MYX, HASH, PENGU, PUMP and MNT person carved retired terms gains successful excess of 10% this week.

"The CPI + jobs combo created a classical “good news/bad data” trade: ostentation prints higher, but weaker labour information preserves the easing narrative, a nett affirmative for crypto successful the adjacent term," Timothy Misir, caput of research, BRN said successful an email.

Derivatives Positioning

• Open involvement successful futures tied to the apical 10 cryptocurrencies accrued 3%-5% successful the past 24 hours arsenic strengthening expectations of Fed complaint cuts punctual traders to instrumentality much risk.
• Still, the marketplace does not look overheated, with annualized perpetual backing rates for large coins continuing to hover astir 10%. Positive backing rates bespeak a bullish bias among traders. Extremely precocious values typically awesome marketplace froth.
• OI successful PENGU, 1 of the best-performing tokens of the past 7 days, deed a grounds precocious 7.78 cardinal coins, validating the terms rise. Funding rates for the coin are somewhat elevated astatine astir 15%.
• Smaller tokens, similar SKY and PYTH, person profoundly antagonistic backing rates, a motion of bias towards bearish, abbreviated positions.
• CME's bitcoin futures are yet seeing an uptick successful OI, ending a multiweek diminution portion ether OI has pulled backmost to a one-month debased of 1.78 cardinal ETH. These diverging trends could beryllium a motion of renewed trader absorption connected BTC. Options OI successful BTC and ETH remains elevated astatine multimonth highs.
• On Deribit, BTC and ETH options proceed to amusement a bias toward puts up to the December expiry, contempt traders pricing astir 5 U.S. interest-rate cuts by July adjacent year.

Token Talk

By Oliver Knight

• One of the founders of Thorchain, a decentralized web that allows users to nonstop assets crossed blockchains, was hacked this week aft being duped by a deepfake video telephone connected Zoom.
• "Ok truthful this onslaught yet manifested itself. Had an aged metamask cleaned out," JPThor wrote connected X.
• Peckshield noted that $1.2 cardinal was stolen from a Thorchain user, with ZachXBT adding that the perpetrator is linked to North Korean hackers.
• Thorchain emerged arsenic 1 of North Korea's astir fashionable laundering tools earlier this year; researchers estimated that 80% of the proceeds from a $1.4 cardinal hack connected Bybit had been siphoned done Thorchain and protocols similar Vultisig.
• The thorchain token (RUNE) is trading astir $1.28, having mislaid 14% of its worth successful the past period and much than 90% since hitting its March 2024 precocious of $12.95.
• The hack progressive a substance of societal engineering and phishing, 2 techniques that contributed to the $2.5 cardinal stolen by hackers successful the archetypal fractional of 2025.