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Bitcoin and Ether Hold Up as Altcoins Slide

Bitcoin and Ether are benefiting from institutional demand and ETFs, while altcoins lose ground. Derivatives show a mixed picture, with weaker positions in Ether and Solana.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
Bitcoin and Ether Hold Up as Altcoins Slide

Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin gained about 0.9% over the past 24 hours to $64,700, while the broader CoinDesk 20 index was up just 0.16%.
  • Altcoins kept losing steam, with open interest down about 15% over the past month and the Altcoin Season index slipping from 43 to 42.
  • Derivatives painted a mixed picture, with stronger futures volume for longs, but weak Ether and Solana positioning and higher open interest in XRP.

Bitcoin and Ether are still doing the heavy lifting for the crypto market, while the rest of the CoinDesk 20 continues to lag. Bitcoin climbed about 0.9% in the past 24 hours to $64,700 (€56,000), while the broader index managed only a 0.16% gain. The move suggests capital is still clustering around the largest tokens, even as stock markets hover near record highs.

Altcoins Lose Momentum

Zaheer Ebtikar, chief strategy officer at crypto neobank Plasma, said altcoins are having a harder time gaining traction without stronger support from Bitcoin. He noted that altcoin open interest has fallen about 15% over the past month, while Bitcoin is up roughly 8% over the same stretch. CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season index also edged lower, moving from 43 to 42 out of 100.

Ebtikar argued that Bitcoin is now woven into the market's plumbing through ETFs, basis trades, institutional hedging, and collateral use. In his view, that means the asset does not need a big price move to keep attracting capital. Many altcoins, by contrast, have not yet reached that same level of market maturity, and projects often still struggle to show token holders where the value is supposed to come from.

Derivatives Show a Mixed Picture

The derivatives market was not outright bearish, but it was far from cleanly bullish either. The long-short taker volume ratio in crypto futures turned positive for the first time in at least a week, with longs accounting for nearly 52% of volume. Bitcoin futures open interest also climbed to 770,000 BTC, though it is still unclear whether that increase will stick. Similar jumps since the start of June have faded quickly.

Ether futures positioning remained soft, with open interest staying below 14 million ETH. Solana saw another drop in leverage as open interest fell to 60.81 million tokens. XRP was the outlier, with open interest rising 5% to 2.23 billion tokens even as the price slipped to $1.04 (€0.90), its lowest level since early July.

Why This Matters

For European crypto readers, the takeaway is that liquidity and institutional preference are driving a lot of the market right now. If Bitcoin and Ether keep soaking up most of the demand, that could shape how money flows into the rest of crypto. Their dominance has been rising for some time, helped by the launch of spot Bitcoin ETPs in the U.S. and wider institutional access to digital assets. It also reflects a broader shift: Bitcoin is increasingly being traded less like a standalone bet and more like the market's anchor, with ETFs and institutional flows playing a bigger role.

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