Market Update: Bitcoin Takes a Breather Near $94,000

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a brief respite near the $94,000 mark, with bitcoin having dipped to $92,000 in the past two days. This development has shifted focus to the $100,000 level, leaving major altcoins such as XRP, ETH, SOL, ADA, and DOGE behind. However, smaller coins like STX, SUI, ONDO, and GRT are gaining traction, outperforming both BTC and the wider market.

Bitcoin's Bull Run Continues

Bitcoin's $20,000 surge since April 7 has been driven by increased on-chain accumulation by whales and significant inflows through spot ETFs. The 11 U.S.-listed funds have amassed almost $1.5 billion in net inflows over the past three days, according to Farside Investors.

Market Sentiment

The CME bitcoin futures basis remains below 10%, indicating bearish sentiment. However, perpetual funding rates for most major tokens are moderately positive, highlighting bullish sentiment. In options, traders bought ETH puts via OTC platform Paradigm while the BTC call option at $95K dominated the flow.

Token Movements

SUI, ONDO, UNI, and HBAR have shown significant growth in perpetual futures open interest over the past 24 hours. Open interest in BTC and ETH futures has flatlined. Rollup builder Initia's new INIT tokens climbed to 92 cents after a Thursday issuance at an initial price of 60 cents.

Derivatives Positioning

SUI, ONDO, UNI, and HBAR have shown the most growth in perpetual futures open interest in the past 24 hours. Open interest in BTC and ETH futures has flatlined. Perpetual funding rates for most major tokens remain moderately positive, highlighting bullish sentiment.

Market Movements

BTC is up 0.23% from 4 p.m. ET Thursday at $93,701.46 (24hrs: +1.32%). ETH is up 0.62% at $1,774.26 (24hrs: +1.92%). The CoinDesk 20 is up 0.45% at 2,750.46 (24hrs: +2.79%).

Technical Analysis

Bitcoin layer-2 protocol Stacks' native token, STX, has crossed above the Ichimoku cloud to suggest a bullish shift in momentum. The ascending 5- and 10-day simple moving averages (SMAs) suggest the same, with $1.05, the August 2024 low, as immediate resistance.

Crypto Equities

Strategy (MSTR): closed on Thursday at $350.34 (+1.33%), up 0.19% at $351 in pre-market. Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $203.87 (+4.66%), up 1.8% at $205.67.

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs: Daily net flow: $442 million. Cumulative net flows: $38.13 billion. Total BTC holdings ~ 1.14 million. Source: Farside Investors.

Overnight Flows

Overnight flows April 25, 2025 (CoinDesk).

Chart of the Day

BTC exchange balances. (CryptoRank.io, Glassnode). The number of BTC held in wallets tied to centralized exchanges continues to slide, hitting the lowest in five years.

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