Bitcoin pauses just under $70,000 as Polkadot and Uniswap spearhead the altcoin rally.

Bitcoin traded in a clearly defined band on Thursday, even as select altcoins diverged sharply. During Asian hours, BTC changed hands near $68,600 after briefly probing the $70,000 level in a volatile U.S. session the previous day.

With February nearing its end, the largest cryptocurrency remains locked in a range that has held since early in the month. Price action has swung between Tuesday’s low near $62,500 and a Feb. 15 peak around $71,100, underscoring the market’s indecision.

Traders may recall that a comparable consolidation in January ultimately resolved to the upside — only to trap breakout buyers before bitcoin tumbled from $98,000 to $60,000 over the following three weeks, carving out a lower high in the current bearish cycle.

Altcoins Diverge

A handful of tokens outperformed the broader market. HYPE advanced 4.3% since midnight UTC, climbing back toward the $30 mark, while privacy-focused Decred (DCR) gained 4% to reach its strongest level since November.

By contrast, ATOM slid more than 6%, with losses extending into European trading. The absence of a clear negative catalyst highlights the fragility of liquidity across smaller-cap tokens.

Broader crypto majors also firmed. Cardano (ADA) and ether (ETH) each rose roughly 8.5% since Wednesday morning. Notably, open interest in both assets climbed alongside prices, suggesting the rally was driven largely by leveraged positioning rather than spot demand, according to Coinalyze.

Derivatives Positioning Signals Fresh Leverage

Total open interest across crypto futures markets jumped more than 6.6% to nearly $100 billion, outpacing the growth in aggregate market capitalization and indicating fresh capital inflows.

ADA and ETH futures stood out, with open interest rising 21% and 15%, respectively. Several other altcoins posted gains of about 9%, while bitcoin’s more modest 3% increase in open interest appeared primarily linked to spot price appreciation.

Volatility gauges remain subdued. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) and ether’s equivalent (EVIV) hover near weekly lows, signaling calm conditions that could support continued upside. Meanwhile, annualized perpetual funding rates across major tokens have stabilized slightly above zero, reflecting a renewed bias toward long positioning.

On Deribit, bitcoin’s rebound spurred demand for call options with strike prices between $85,000 and $90,000. Still, the broader options market maintains a tilt toward protective puts, suggesting lingering caution. The $60,000 put remains the single most popular contract, with more than $1.4 billion in notional open interest.

Token Highlights

Layer-1 token DOT surged 21% over the past 24 hours, though momentum cooled during European hours. Traders appear to be positioning ahead of the network’s reward halving scheduled for March.

Uniswap’s governance token UNI added 15%, buoyed by a new proposal that would increase the protocol’s revenue capture across multiple layer-2 networks.

Macro Backdrop

In traditional markets, U.S. stock index futures were little changed. NVIDIA’s latest earnings report failed to spark sustained upside, as concerns linger that artificial intelligence valuations may have run ahead of fundamentals.

For now, bitcoin remains range-bound — but derivatives data suggests leverage is quietly rebuilding beneath the surface.