Bitcoin edged down 0.2% to around $80,250 since midnight UTC but remained above the $80,000 mark following Wednesday’s sharp recovery. The latest consolidation came as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted fresh investment, ending a three-day run of consecutive outflows.

Bitcoin pulled back slightly after rising from approximately $78,000 during Wednesday’s trading session. Ether declined 0.4%, while the CoinDesk 80 Index advanced 0.9%.

The cryptocurrency market’s rebound followed an 8% drop in oil prices and stronger U.S. equity performance after the midterm elections. Bitcoin gained 2.5% over the past 24 hours, while Ether climbed 4%. Brent crude was trading around $95 per barrel, recovering modestly from Wednesday’s sharp sell-off.

Farside Investors data showed that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs registered $74.6 million in net inflows on Wednesday, reversing three consecutive sessions of withdrawals.

Meanwhile, U.S. equity futures were mixed early Thursday. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.8%. Investors are awaiting the latest initial jobless claims figures and Friday’s U.S. employment report for further clues about the economic outlook.

Bitcoin Derivatives Signal a Short Squeeze

Crypto futures activity picks up: Trading volume across cryptocurrency futures markets increased 15% in 24 hours to $244 billion, while total open interest edged up 1% to $139.9 billion. This indicates that much of the activity involved existing positions being adjusted rather than a significant inflow of new capital.

Total liquidations rose 53% to $715 million, with short positions representing approximately 65% of the amount. The increase suggests that bearish traders were forced to close their bets as cryptocurrency prices recovered.

The taker buy-sell volume ratio, which measures aggressive buying and selling through market orders, shifted to a slight selling bias at 50.6%. This reversed Wednesday’s modest preference for buying.

Bitcoin gains largely reflect forced short closures: Bitcoin’s open interest increased just 0.3% despite a 2.6% price advance. Approximately 93% of the $267 million in Bitcoin liquidations came from short positions.

The data suggests that the rally was driven primarily by traders covering bearish positions rather than fresh leveraged long demand. However, positive funding rates have increased since the previous day, indicating that bullish traders continue paying short sellers to maintain their positions.

NEAR buying momentum weakens as Zcash activity slows: NEAR Protocol shifted from leading market-order buying activity on Wednesday to recording the weakest performance on Thursday. Its open interest fell 2.7% alongside a 1.1% price decline, suggesting that traders were reducing their exposure. Funding rates remained positive, meaning long-position holders continued paying shorts.

Zcash also showed signs of slowing activity. Its open interest increased 3.5% alongside a 3.6% price gain, but the 25% surge in fresh capital recorded a day earlier was not repeated. Trading volume declined 13%.

CVD data reveals mixed market pressure: Open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD), which tracks aggressive market buying and selling, showed divergent signals across digital assets. SUI recorded some of the strongest positive readings, while TRX, GRAM and BNB experienced comparatively stronger selling pressure.

Funding rates continue to favor long positions: Most cryptocurrencies maintained positive funding rates, indicating that long traders were paying short traders. Monero’s XMR continued to post the highest positive funding rate, although it eased from Wednesday. GRAM and TRX recorded the most negative readings, showing that short sellers were paying long-position holders.

Bitcoin options indicate fading demand for downside protection: Bitcoin’s one-week options skew, which measures the additional premium paid for put options compared with calls, dropped to approximately 2% from 11% the previous day.

The decline suggests that traders have significantly reduced their demand for short-term protection against falling prices. One-week implied volatility also eased to around 33%, reflecting lower expectations for near-term price fluctuations.

Call options dominate Bitcoin positioning: Five of Bitcoin’s six most actively traded options contracts were calls, with strike prices between $78,000 and $85,000. Only one put contract appeared among the leading positions.

Wednesday’s activity had also included put options with $75,000 and $68,000 strike prices. Ether displayed the opposite trend, with four of its six most actively traded contracts being puts with strike prices below its current market value.

Injective Leads Gains Following Staked ETF Approval

Injective (INJ) emerged as the strongest performer in the CoinDesk 100 Index, gaining approximately 6% since midnight UTC. The rally followed Nasdaq’s approval of the listing of Canary Capital’s proposed staked INJ ETF, which is expected to trade under the ticker INJC, according to an SEC filing. The token advanced around 10% over 24 hours.

Venice Token (VVV), which topped Wednesday’s market gainers, reversed direction and dropped 11% over the previous 24 hours.

Official Trump (TRUMP) declined approximately 14%, making it the weakest performer among CoinMarketCap’s top 100 cryptocurrencies. World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token also lost around 4%. Both assets faced selling pressure following Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections.

Broader market sentiment improved as the CoinMarketCap Fear and Greed Index climbed to 42 from 37, returning to neutral territory. Meanwhile, the Altcoin Season Index stood at 49, suggesting that the market has not yet shifted into a broader altcoin-led rally.