Silver activity spikes on Hyperliquid as bitcoin stalls

Silver has emerged as a top-traded asset on Hyperliquid, highlighting a shift in how crypto derivatives are being used while bitcoin struggles to find direction.

The SILVER-USDC perpetual contract traded around $110 during Asia hours, posting nearly $994 million in 24-hour volume. Open interest stands at about $154.5 million, and slightly negative funding rates suggest active two-way positioning rather than one-sided leveraged bets. For a crypto-native perpetual market, this points to volatility and hedging activity rather than speculative longs.

Silver’s prominence is notable. According to CoinGecko, its volume ranks just behind BTC and ETH pairs and ahead of SOL and XRP. That a commodity is drawing activity comparable to major crypto assets suggests traders are using crypto infrastructure for macro and hedging strategies that bitcoin and ether no longer capture efficiently. In effect, decentralized exchanges are increasingly serving as venues for broader macro trading.

Meanwhile, bitcoin remains range-bound. Glassnode data shows BTC in a defensive equilibrium, with cumulative spot volume delta turning sharply negative as sellers absorb rallies. ETF inflows have cooled, derivatives open interest has eased, funding remains uneven, and options skew is rising—indicating growing demand for downside protection rather than bullish conviction.

Price stability near $88,000 masks restrained leverage and cautious positioning, while ETH’s underperformance reinforces muted risk appetite. The surge in silver trading reflects where traders are now pricing macro uncertainty.

Market Snapshot

• BTC: Trading near $88,000, sideways as sell pressure and cautious positioning cap rallies.
• ETH: Around $2,300, lagging BTC with muted leverage and risk appetite.
• Gold: Extends its breakout, up ~15% over 30 days and over 50% in six months, mirroring flows into hard assets.
• Nikkei 225: Flat in Asia; South Korean auto stocks swung on U.S. tariff concerns, with chip-led gains in Seoul and Australia offsetting weakness in China.