Crypto Market Rallies Broadly as Bitcoin Clears $81K, Privacy Coins Soar

Bitcoin climbed back above $81,000 on Friday, clearing a resistance zone that had limited its advance in late August. The broader crypto market followed higher, while privacy-focused tokens emerged as the biggest gainers.

BTC was trading around $81,060 Friday morning, down 0.22% from midnight UTC after reaching an overnight high of $81,309. The move placed Bitcoin firmly above the $80,000 threshold as bullish momentum returned to the market.

Large-cap tokens also advanced. Ether gained 4.52% over the previous 24 hours, XRP rose 5.58% and Solana added 3.04%. About $318.6 million in crypto positions were liquidated during the period, according to Coinalyze.

Privacy coins posted even sharper gains. Dash jumped 19.24%, Zcash climbed 16.55% and Monero rose 5.89%. The sector’s sudden strength came without a clear catalyst.

Outside crypto, gold increased 0.17% to $4,480, while silver added 0.25% to $67.11. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.42%, while the dollar index remained nearly unchanged at 99.063.

Derivatives Show Bullish Momentum

Futures data pointed to a modest advantage for buyers. Long positions accounted for 51.4% of taker volume, compared with 48.5% for shorts.

Dash was particularly strong in derivatives markets. The token gained as much as roughly 25% over 24 hours and traded near $53.10, while open interest rose about 20%.

The simultaneous increase in price and open interest suggests traders were adding new positions rather than simply closing existing ones. Positive funding and normalized cumulative volume delta also reinforced the bullish setup. Funding near 10% indicated that leverage had not reached extreme levels.

Zcash showed a similar pattern, with open interest, CVD and perpetual futures activity all pointing toward stronger buying interest. There were also few signs of excessive leverage.

TRON presented a contrasting picture. Annualized perpetual funding for TRX dropped to -59% and remained negative for most of the week, despite briefly improving to roughly -20% a day earlier.

Such deeply negative funding indicates that short positions are crowded. A sustained move higher could therefore trigger a short squeeze as bearish traders are forced to close their positions.

Bitcoin Futures Activity Picks Up

Bitcoin futures open interest increased to approximately 709,000 BTC from about 687,000 BTC over 24 hours.

Although open interest has generally hovered around 700,000 BTC, the latest increase came as Bitcoin moved through $80,000. Positive funding and a rising OI-adjusted CVD indicate that fresh positions are leaning toward the bullish side.

Ether futures also recorded a slight increase in open interest. Solana and XRP, however, have not seen a similar expansion in derivatives positioning despite their recent price gains.

SOL futures open interest remained largely stable over the previous 24 to 48 hours, even after Solana moved above $100. XRP futures showed a comparable trend.

Call Options Point to Higher Prices

Bitcoin’s volatility backdrop remained relatively subdued. BVIV, the 30-day implied volatility gauge, stood near 40%, down from approximately 50% during the August spike.

The calm conditions were also visible in traditional markets, where the VIX hovered around 14%, its lowest level since January.

Options traders continued to favor calls. Bitcoin’s most active contracts included the $80,000 call expiring Sept. 25, while significant activity was concentrated around the $85,000-$95,000 strikes.

Ether options showed a similar preference for upside exposure, with the $2,800 call expiring Sept. 18 among the most actively traded contracts.

Privacy Sector Extends Gains

Pons remained one of the market’s strongest performers, surging 31.50% over 24 hours to $0.6607. Its seven-day gain reached 379.33%, while trading volume climbed to $151 million. The Robinhood Chain launchpad also helped the token add more than $100 million in market capitalization during the week.

Zcash traded near $967 after gaining 16.55% over 24 hours and 22.21% over seven days. Its open interest increased 38.72%, while funding fell to -0.0118%, showing that shorts were paying to maintain bearish positions.

Dash rose 19.24% over 24 hours to $50.66 and gained 6.91% since midnight, lifting its weekly performance to 30.52%. Trading volume stood at $204 million.

Monero climbed 5.89% to $544 and was up 3.82% since midnight, giving it a 16.03% seven-day advance.

Uniswap also continued its recovery from Thursday’s sell-off. UNI gained 9.84% over 24 hours to $6.34 and was up 36.94% for the week.