Altcoins Stay Muted Amid Market Weakness; MON Gains Momentum on Upbit

Crypto Markets Steady as Fear Persists; MON Rallies on Upbit Debut

Crypto markets were broadly unchanged on Wednesday, with sentiment still stuck in “extreme fear” following last week’s sharp sell-off. Bitcoin BTC held near $86,600, while ether ETH inched up to $2,900, and altcoins remained largely directionless.

Volatility stayed muted across major assets. The biggest 24-hour move among the top 20 cryptocurrencies was roughly 3%, underscoring the deep lull that followed last week’s liquidity-driven drawdown. According to CoinDesk Indices, altcoins continue to trail bitcoin: the CoinDesk 10 Capped Index excluding BTC is down 36.8% year-to-date, compared with a 29.7% decline for the same index including bitcoin. The data reflects an ongoing preference for BTC’s lower volatility and relative safety.

Derivatives Landscape

Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility gauge (BVIV) has nearly unwound last week’s spike from 53% to 65% as market stress eased. Deribit saw a notable block trade involving a dual purchase of a $220,000 call and a $40,000 put, both expiring in June 2026—likely a bet on a major volatility breakout in the months ahead.

Sentiment in options markets remains cautious. Put spreads were the dominant structure in BTC block activity over the past day, while ETH traders favored diagonal put calendar spreads. BTC puts are still trading at a premium across maturities, whereas ETH options tilt bullish with call-heavy positioning from September 2026 onward.

Open interest reflected risk-off behavior: CME’s standard bitcoin futures OI fell to 132.4K BTC, its lowest since April, while ETH’s OI slid to just under 2 million ETH, a level not seen in more than two months. Only ETH and ZEC recorded modest OI increases in the past 24 hours.

MON Breaks Out on Upbit Listing

Altcoins mostly consolidated, but Monad (MON) defied the trend with a strong surge following its launch on South Korean exchange Upbit. The token, which traded exclusively on Coinbase for its first 48 hours, has now doubled from its $0.023 debut, with Upbit generating $370 million in daily volume—well above Coinbase’s $274 million. The outsized demand from Korean retail traders contrasts with the weaker appetite seen in U.S. and European markets, where last week’s token sale struggled to sell out.

As with many new listings, volatility remains elevated. The market only recently witnessed a similar pattern with Plasma’s XPL, which spiked to $1.67 on launch but sank below $0.20 within seven weeks.

Elsewhere in altcoins, ETH ticked higher, XRP fell 1.3%, and STRK continued to unwind its earlier rally—dropping more than 40% in the past week after surging from $0.10 to $0.27 earlier in November.