Market Makers Keep Bitcoin and XRP Steady While Ether Faces Rising Volatility

Ether’s recent rally has driven it into a zone that could spell heightened market turbulence, even as Bitcoin and XRP remain largely stable, thanks to forces quietly working behind the scenes.

While Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP (XRP) are moving sideways, a significant player—market makers—appears to be keeping both assets anchored to key price levels. Yet, those same forces might end up adding fuel to volatility in ether’s (ETH) market.

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Market Makers: The Invisible Hand

Market makers are crucial participants who provide liquidity by continuously placing buy and sell orders in an exchange’s order book. They operate on the opposite side of traders and profit from the bid-ask spread while maintaining positions that are neutral in market direction. To achieve that neutrality, they frequently hedge using futures and spot markets, which can either dampen or intensify price swings.

For Bitcoin, options market makers currently hold long gamma positions at strike prices of $108,000 and $110,000, according to Deribit options data analyzed by Amberdata. This means they own both calls and puts that profit from increased volatility.

To maintain their neutral exposure, market makers typically trade against market moves—selling when prices rise and buying when prices fall. This strategy helps keep BTC’s price range-bound between $108,000 and $110,000, a pattern reflected in CoinDesk data for much of this month.

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XRP Also Tightly Held

A similar pattern is visible in the XRP market, where a significant positive gamma buildup has formed around the $2.30 strike price. Market makers here are also buying dips and selling rallies, helping contain volatility and keeping XRP steady near that level.

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Ether Steps Into the Volatility Zone

By contrast, ether has surged, briefly touching $2,647 earlier today—its highest level since June 16. This move has pushed ETH into a negative gamma zone between $2,650 and $3,500.

When market makers hold negative gamma, they tend to trade with the direction of price moves, rather than against them. This behavior amplifies both rallies and sell-offs, potentially fueling greater volatility in ether’s price.

In other words, should ether’s rally continue, market makers may be forced to chase prices higher with additional buying, adding to the bullish momentum—or, conversely, accelerate any decline if the market reverses.

For now, while Bitcoin and XRP remain pinned to familiar levels thanks to supportive market maker activity, ether looks poised for choppier waters ahead.

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