Bitcoin’s volatility has eased to its lowest level since the Binance hack as the cryptocurrency moves closer to $78,600. At the same time, Zcash is attracting fresh speculative interest, with futures open interest surging 28% ahead of its upcoming NU7 upgrade.

Bitcoin options traders are removing the protective positions they established before the US midterm elections. The unwinding of these hedges has pushed implied volatility to its weakest level since the Binance security incident, while BTC has recovered to around $78,570.

Deribit’s DVOL index, which gauges expected Bitcoin volatility over the next 30 days, slipped to 37.03 earlier Wednesday. The indicator had stood at 40.76 around midday Tuesday, when voting began across the United States.

Bitcoin’s market price has also strengthened following its overnight decline. BTC was trading at approximately $78,570 on Binance, recovering 3.7% from its low of $75,736 recorded as election results started coming in.

The derivatives market is showing a different trend among altcoins. Zcash futures open interest on OKX jumped 28% in 24 hours to $196 million, with the network’s NU7 upgrade approaching.

As election-related uncertainty disappears, market participants are now watching whether Bitcoin can establish a position above $80,000 and whether altcoins can maintain their recovery.

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Bitcoin News: Options Traders Shift Toward Bullish Positions

Bitcoin options data indicates that market participants are anticipating a calmer trading environment, with overall positioning favoring potential price appreciation. The midterm elections generated a smaller volatility reaction than the Binance hack.

Deribit’s DVOL index climbed to 44.25 approximately four hours after the Binance incident. During the election period, however, it reached only 40.89.

The distribution of options contracts continues to favor calls. Deribit currently shows 193,024 BTC in call open interest compared with 132,544 BTC in puts, resulting in a put-to-call ratio of 0.69. Call options also recorded higher trading activity than puts over the latest 24-hour period.

For the November 27 expiration, the largest individual position is a $90,000 call option position covering 4,484 BTC. The largest put position is at the $75,000 strike, representing 2,880 BTC and sitting below Bitcoin’s latest weekly low.

Polymarket traders are assigning the following probabilities to potential Bitcoin price movements:

• $80,000 this month: 85.5%
• $85,000: 39.5%
• $90,000: 15.5%
• A decline to $75,000: 60.5%

Futures positioning, however, suggests that traders are not completely convinced by the recovery.

Bitcoin open interest on OKX increased 4.2% over 24 hours to $3.86 billion. Despite the growth, the long-to-short account ratio dropped from 2.74 to 1.88, indicating a reduction in bullish exposure.

Hyperliquid funding rates remain at 0.01% every eight hours, suggesting that leveraged traders are not paying elevated premiums to maintain bullish positions.

ETF flows also point to continued caution among institutional investors. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $115.56 million in net outflows on November 3, taking their combined 30-day withdrawals to $1.32 billion. Spot Ether ETFs experienced an additional $85.35 million in outflows.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Can BTC Regain the $80,000 Level?

Bitcoin’s recovery has brought its major moving averages back into focus. During overnight trading, the cryptocurrency dropped to $75,736 before recovering near its 200-day exponential moving average at $76,530.

The asset has not registered a daily close below this technical indicator since the Binance hack. Consequently, the 200-day EMA remains an important level for traders monitoring potential downside pressure.

On the upside, the 50-day EMA near $80,076 is the next major hurdle. Bitcoin remains approximately $1,500 below this indicator, which also corresponds closely with the $80,000 target favored by prediction market participants.

The following price levels remain important:

• $80,076: The declining 50-day EMA and immediate resistance.
• $81,971: The October 29 peak, where Bitcoin’s previous recovery stalled before the Binance hack.
• $76,530: The 200-day EMA, serving as an important technical support reference.
• $75,736: The latest overnight low, followed by the September low of $74,968.

Zcash Futures Activity Accelerates Ahead of NU7

Zcash is emerging as one of the most active altcoin derivatives markets ahead of its scheduled network upgrade. Open interest in OKX Zcash futures climbed 28% to $196 million within 24 hours. Its derivatives market on Hyperliquid is also substantial, with approximately $662 million in open interest.

The upcoming NU7 activation is drawing additional attention to the cryptocurrency. The Zcash Foundation’s Zebra 7.0.0 release is set to activate the upgrade at block height 3,543,405. The activation height was added to the Zcash specifications on October 21.

NEAR has gained 11%, while its open interest has remained almost unchanged. This suggests that spot-market purchases are providing most of the buying pressure rather than increased leveraged exposure. Binance recorded $108 million in NEAR trading volume, approaching XRP’s $111 million. However, early figures showed $3.60 million in outflows from its US ETF on Tuesday.

Ethena has advanced 10% despite a 3.2% decline in open interest. The divergence suggests that short sellers are closing bearish positions, potentially supporting the token’s price recovery.

Bitcoin’s declining volatility suggests that options traders are becoming more comfortable with the market following the US midterm elections. Nevertheless, persistent ETF outflows and weakening futures positioning indicate that confidence in a sustained recovery remains limited. The upcoming Zcash upgrade and continued altcoin performance could help determine whether the market is preparing for another upward move or a fresh consolidation phase.