Bitcoin nears $72,000 as haven demand rises; Altcoins gain
Bitcoin touched a one-month high of $71,800 on Wednesday as haven demand rose amid Middle East tensions; gold gained 1.8%, silver 5.3%, and altcoins advanced by double digits.
Bitcoin neared $72,000 on Wednesday, rising to a one-month high of $71,800 as demand for haven assets increased during renewed tensions in the Middle East. Gold was up 1.8% since midnight UTC and silver 5.3%. Several smaller tokens, including KITE, AERO and TAO, posted double-digit gains.
The largest cryptocurrency gained about 4.8% since midnight UTC before pausing just below $72,000. The level was last seen on Feb. 8 before a pullback to about $65,000.
Traditional havens strengthened while major equity indexes were little changed since midnight UTC. Markets tracked developments in the Middle East conflict.
Derivatives data showed an 8% increase in global crypto futures open interest to nearly $103 billion over the past 24 hours. Trading volumes rose by less, pointing to more positions being held. Open interest across the 10 largest tokens increased, led by dogecoin with about a 10% rise.
Perpetual funding rates for bitcoin, ether and other large tokens were positive, and cumulative volume delta was positive, indicating net buying on futures markets. Thirty-day implied volatility for bitcoin and ether held near levels seen before the recent flare-up, suggesting no sharp repricing of risk.
Options activity was mixed. On Deribit, put contracts traded at higher prices than comparable calls. The end-March $125,000 bitcoin call was the most active strike over the past 24 hours. Much of the flow involved closing existing short positions, with demand for bitcoin call spreads and call ratio spreads. In ether, traders were active in both call and put spreads.
Altcoins advanced after nearly a month of consolidation. Ether rose about 5% since midnight UTC, with daily spot turnover around $25 billion. Lower-liquidity tokens outpaced larger coins: KITE, AERO and TAO climbed by double digits over 24 hours, while PUMP and DCR added around 6%. A computing-focused crypto index gained about 7% over the period, versus roughly 5% for a large-cap, bitcoin-weighted benchmark.
Sentiment gauges improved. A widely watched crypto Fear and Greed index increased from February lows of 5 out of 100 to 19.
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