BTC Regains $78,500 as Election Hedging Drops and Zcash Leverage Builds Before Upgrade

Bitcoin’s implied volatility has retreated to its lowest level since the Binance hack as BTC approaches $78,600. Meanwhile, Zcash is witnessing a sharp increase in derivatives activity, with futures open interest climbing 28% ahead of its upcoming NU7 network upgrade.

Options traders have started unwinding the hedges they established before the US midterm elections. This change in positioning has reduced expectations of significant Bitcoin price swings, pushing implied volatility to its lowest point since the Binance security breach. Bitcoin has also regained ground, trading near $78,570.

Deribit’s DVOL index, which measures expected Bitcoin volatility over the next 30 days, fell to 37.03 earlier Wednesday. The index was at 40.76 around midday Tuesday as voting began across the United States.

The cryptocurrency’s price recovery has accompanied the decline in volatility. Bitcoin traded at approximately $78,570 on Binance, gaining 3.7% from its overnight low of $75,736 as election results started emerging.

Altcoin derivatives markets are showing stronger activity. Zcash futures open interest on OKX increased 28% over 24 hours to $196 million, with the network’s NU7 upgrade approaching.

With the US elections now concluded, traders are turning their attention to Bitcoin’s ability to break above $80,000 and whether the wider altcoin market can extend its recovery.

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Bitcoin News: Options Market Shows Reduced Election Concerns

Bitcoin options positioning suggests traders are expecting a relatively quieter month, with a noticeable preference for bullish contracts. The midterm elections caused a smaller reaction in volatility markets than the Binance hack.

Deribit’s DVOL index surged to 44.25 within four hours of the Binance incident. During the election period, the indicator reached only 40.89.

Current options data continues to show greater demand for upside exposure. Deribit has recorded 193,024 BTC in call open interest against 132,544 BTC in puts, producing a put-to-call ratio of 0.69. Calls also accounted for more trading activity than puts over the latest 24-hour period.

The November 27 expiration features the largest individual position at the $90,000 strike, with 4,484 BTC in call options. The biggest put position is concentrated at $75,000, representing 2,880 BTC.

Polymarket traders currently assign the following probabilities to Bitcoin’s potential price targets:

• $80,000 this month: 85.5%
• $85,000: 39.5%
• $90,000: 15.5%
• A decline to $75,000: 60.5%

Futures traders are showing a more cautious outlook despite the bullish options positioning.

Bitcoin open interest on OKX increased 4.2% over 24 hours to $3.86 billion. However, the long-to-short account ratio declined from 2.74 to 1.88, suggesting that bullish exposure has weakened.

On Hyperliquid, funding rates remain at the standard 0.01% every eight hours. This indicates that leveraged traders are not yet showing strong demand for maintaining long positions.

Institutional investment flows also remain under pressure. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $115.56 million in net outflows on November 3, increasing their combined 30-day withdrawals to $1.32 billion. Spot Ether ETFs experienced another $85.35 million in outflows.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Faces Resistance Near $80,000

Bitcoin’s overnight recovery has placed its major moving averages back in focus. The cryptocurrency briefly declined to $75,736 before finding support near its 200-day exponential moving average at $76,530.

BTC has not recorded a daily close below this indicator since the Binance hack, making it an important technical level for traders evaluating the strength of the current recovery.

The next significant resistance sits at the 50-day EMA near $80,076. Bitcoin remains approximately $1,500 below this level, which is also close to the $80,000 target that prediction market participants expect it could reach this month.

The main technical levels to watch are:

• $80,076: The declining 50-day EMA and immediate resistance.
• $81,971: The October 29 high, where the previous rally lost momentum before the Binance hack.
• $76,530: The 200-day EMA and a key support reference.
• $75,736: The latest overnight low, with the September low of $74,968 providing another downside reference.

Zcash Leverage Climbs as NU7 Upgrade Approaches

Zcash has become a major focus for derivatives traders ahead of its upcoming network upgrade. Open interest in Zcash futures on OKX jumped 28% to $196 million within 24 hours. The cryptocurrency also maintains considerable derivatives activity on Hyperliquid, where open interest stands at approximately $662 million.

The upcoming NU7 activation is providing a potential catalyst for increased market interest. The Zcash Foundation’s Zebra 7.0.0 release is scheduled to activate the upgrade at block height 3,543,405. This activation height was incorporated into the Zcash specifications on October 21.

NEAR has advanced 11%, while its open interest has remained largely unchanged. This suggests that spot-market demand is driving the rally rather than a significant increase in leveraged positions. NEAR recorded $108 million in Binance trading volume, close to XRP’s $111 million. However, preliminary figures showed $3.60 million in outflows from its US ETF on Tuesday.

Ethena has gained 10% even as open interest declined 3.2%. This pattern suggests that traders holding short positions are closing their bets, potentially contributing to the token’s upward movement.

Bitcoin’s declining implied volatility indicates that election-related uncertainty is no longer a major concern for options traders. However, continued ETF withdrawals and weakening futures positioning suggest that the broader market remains cautious. Bitcoin’s attempt to reclaim $80,000, alongside Zcash’s upcoming NU7 upgrade, could help determine whether the latest recovery develops into a wider altcoin rally or loses momentum.