Bitcoin continued to trade within a clearly defined band on Thursday, even as volatility picked up across parts of the altcoin market. During Asian hours, BTC hovered around $68,600 after briefly pushing toward $70,000 in a sharp U.S. session the day before.

With February nearing its conclusion, the largest cryptocurrency remains locked in a range that has capped price action since early in the month. Recent swings include a drop to roughly $62,500 earlier this week and a move up to about $71,100 on Feb. 15, highlighting persistent consolidation.

The structure recalls January’s sideways phase, which ultimately broke higher before reversing sharply. That breakout trapped late buyers and was followed by a steep three-week decline from $98,000 to $60,000, forming a lower high in the broader bearish cycle.

Altcoins Outperform — and Underperform

While bitcoin cooled, select tokens delivered strong gains.

• Polkadot (DOT) surged 21% over the past 24 hours before easing slightly in European trading, as traders positioned ahead of the network’s reward halving expected in March.
• Uniswap (UNI) jumped 15%, supported by a governance proposal aimed at boosting the protocol’s revenue capture across several layer-2 networks.
• HYPE advanced 4.3% since midnight UTC, edging back toward $30.
• Privacy-focused Decred (DCR) gained 4%, reaching its strongest level since November.
• In contrast, Cosmos (ATOM) declined more than 6%, with losses extending into European hours despite no clear negative catalyst — underscoring lingering liquidity fragility among mid-cap tokens.

Among larger-cap assets, Cardano (ADA) and Ethereum (ETH) each climbed roughly 8.5% since Wednesday morning. Notably, open interest rose alongside prices in both markets, suggesting the gains were driven primarily by leveraged futures positioning rather than spot accumulation, according to Coinalyze.

Derivatives Market Signals Fresh Positioning

Open interest across the total crypto futures market increased by more than 6.6% to nearly $100 billion, outpacing the rise in overall market capitalization and pointing to fresh capital entering derivatives.

ADA and ETH futures led the expansion, with open interest up 21% and 15%, respectively. Several other altcoins saw increases of around 9%, while bitcoin’s more modest 3% rise in open interest appeared largely tied to its spot price rebound.

Volatility indicators remain subdued. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) and ether’s EVIV are hovering near weekly lows, reflecting relatively calm conditions that may support further upside. Meanwhile, annualized perpetual funding rates across major tokens have stabilized slightly above zero, indicating a renewed tilt toward long positions.

On the options front, flows on Deribit show increased demand for bitcoin call options with strike prices between $85,000 and $90,000 following the recent bounce. Still, the broader options market remains skewed toward protective puts, signaling lingering downside caution. The $60,000 put continues to dominate positioning, with more than $1.4 billion in notional open interest.

Macro Backdrop

In traditional markets, U.S. equity index futures were largely flat. Earnings from NVIDIA failed to produce sustained gains, as investors weigh concerns that artificial intelligence–driven valuations may have become overstretched.

For now, bitcoin’s consolidation remains intact, but the steady build-up in leveraged exposure suggests traders are bracing for a decisive move.