Key facts
- Bitcoin price hovered near $63,600 following U.S. inflation data.
- The overall crypto market capitalization decreased to $2.18 trillion.
- Monero (XMR) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) showed outperformance against bitcoin.
- XRP futures open interest is at its highest since October.
- Implied volatility for bitcoin and ether is near year-to-date lows.
Bitcoin held its ground near $63,600 following the release of U.S. inflation data that met expectations, providing some market calm without triggering significant directional moves. The cryptocurrency saw a modest 0.30% increase since midnight UTC. However, the broader cryptocurrency market capitalization experienced a decline, shedding 0.54% over the past 24 hours to reach $2.18 trillion. CoinMarketCap's Fear and Greed index indicated a 'fear' sentiment at 38 out of 100.
July's Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered at 3.4% year-over-year, aligning with forecasts, and core inflation eased slightly to 2.5% annually. The upcoming producer price inflation data was anticipated to offer further market impetus. In parallel, U.S. equity futures showed minor gains, with S&P 500 futures up 0.13% and Nasdaq 100 futures largely unchanged.
Derivatives markets showed continued activity, with 24-hour futures volume up 6% to $147 billion, though open interest remained flat around $116 billion. XRP futures open interest stayed elevated for a third consecutive day, nearing October highs, with a negative cumulative volume delta suggesting bearish bets. Despite this, the annualized perpetual funding rate for XRP was near 8%, indicating a bullish bias. Cardano (ADA) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) displayed a strong bearish tilt with negative funding rates and cumulative volume delta, signaling aggressive selling and new short exposure.
Avalanche (AVAX), previously a top open interest gainer, became the largest loser in open interest over the past 24 hours, alongside LTC, LINK, and SOL. Implied volatility for bitcoin and ether remained near year-to-date lows, suggesting traders do not anticipate substantial short-term price movements. Nevertheless, upside bets surfaced, with a significant purchase of call options for BTC at the $65,500 strike for $1.07 million, expiring August 15.
Among altcoins, Monero (XMR) continued its strong performance, up 3.15% since midnight UTC to around $404, extending its weekly gain to over 11%. Hyperliquid (HYPE) also saw gains, up 1.75% to $57, contributing to a steady weekly rise. Other mid-cap altcoins like FET and NEAR also outperformed bitcoin and ether. Curve DAO Token (CRV) experienced a 8.38% decline over 24 hours, retracing some of its recent surge, though it remains up over 22% for the week. The DeFi token Morpho was among the weaker performers, down 1.51%.