Bitcoin has stabilized above the $79,000 mark this week following its breakout past $80,000, extending the strong upward momentum seen last week. The policy from the U.S. Treasury to expand its long-dated debt buyback program continues to boost market risk appetite, with spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recording net inflows for eight consecutive trading days. Cumulative inflows have reached roughly $2.8 billion, marking the longest inflow streak since April of this year.
The primary catalyst behind this rally is the U.S. Treasury's decision to double the single-operation repurchase cap for long-term government bonds. This policy push helped Bitcoin break free from a six-week trading range and triggered the liquidation of over $3 billion in short positions. Hard assets such as gold have also benefited in tandem from this development.
In terms of market sentiment, alternative tokens are showing mixed performance. Bittensor's TAO token led gains during the European trading session, rising approximately 5.3% over 24 hours and staging a notable rebound from its August low of around $185. Meanwhile, Zcash and pump.fun have been weaker, each posting declines of roughly 4%.
Derivatives market data reveals that crypto futures trading volume increased by 6% over the past 24 hours, while open interest grew by 3%. Active long-side takers now account for 51.3% of executed volume, indicating that buyers are actively absorbing market liquidity. Bitcoin's open interest remains steady at approximately 700,000 BTC, with derivatives participation not expanding in lockstep with price. This dynamic reduces the risk of sharp volatility from sudden liquidations and supports a steady, spot-driven upward path.
Ethereum futures open interest has ticked back up to 13.53 million ETH, though it remains well below the May peak. Solana open interest rose 5% to 67.96 million SOL, reaching its highest level since July 9. Its 24-hour cumulative volume delta stands positive, suggesting long positions are being actively executed via market orders. The majority of major tokens show positive cumulative volume deltas, indicating that buyers are maintaining an aggressive stance across a broader range of assets.
Annualized perpetual contract funding rates for leading cryptocurrencies remain positive but below the 10% threshold, signaling a bullish market that has not yet become overheated. Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index has climbed to 46% alongside spot prices, reflecting increased hedging demand. In the options market, institutional investors are purchasing put options with longer maturities for downside protection, while short-dated call options are actively traded with strike prices concentrated in the $70,000 to $85,000 range.
Looking at individual token performance, Bittensor (TAO) has gained about 5.3% to trade near $247, with a seven-day increase of roughly 18%. The DeFi lending protocol Morpho rose 2.7% to approximately $2.60, posting a weekly gain of about 19%. Ethena (ENA) advanced 2.5% to around $0.151, extending last week's 61% surge, although it remains down more than 90% from its peak several months ago. Zcash fell 4.1% to roughly $783, giving back a portion of last week's gains after previously accumulating about 41% over seven days.
The altcoin season index currently reads 38 out of 100, down from last week's 51. This shift indicates that capital is concentrating toward Bitcoin following its breakout above the monthly high.
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