Bitcoin steadies above $72,000 as the crypto market pauses following its recent breakout.

Bitcoin and Ethereum moved slightly higher on Thursday as the broader crypto market paused following a breakout a day earlier, with traders weighing macroeconomic risks, derivatives positioning and whether bitcoin can sustain momentum toward the $80,000 level.

The market showed limited movement overall, with bitcoin and ether each gaining less than 1% as investors consolidated positions after Wednesday’s rally. Bitcoin has managed to hold above the key $70,000 level—an area that previously capped several attempts higher—but the cryptocurrency has yet to deliver the stronger push toward $80,000 that some analysts had anticipated.

Global equity markets reacted positively to reports that Iran had quietly reached out to the United States about a potential agreement to end the conflict in exchange for limits on missile production. The development helped ease some geopolitical concerns.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) declined following the reports but remains roughly 3.5% higher since late January as traders continue to assess potential interest rate moves by the Federal Reserve. Any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could push inflation higher, which might pressure the Fed to maintain or raise rates to stabilize deposits.

Historically, bitcoin tends to strengthen when the U.S. dollar weakens and often faces pressure when the dollar gains.

Derivatives positioning

Activity in the derivatives market suggests growing engagement from traders. Bitcoin futures open interest rose to about 680,000 BTC, the highest level in nearly two weeks, a development that aligns with the recent rise in spot prices.

Ether futures open interest climbed to roughly 13.41 million ETH, its highest level since Jan. 31. In contrast, activity in XRP futures remains subdued, with open interest hovering below 1.7 billion tokens. Futures tied to Solana’s SOL show a similarly muted pattern.

At the same time, open interest in futures linked to tokenized gold assets such as Tether Gold and PAX Gold continues to decline as cryptocurrency prices rise, suggesting investors may be rotating capital from gold-linked tokens into major digital assets while the precious metal rally slows.

Meanwhile, futures activity tied to privacy-focused Zcash is increasing, ending a two-month downtrend in open interest.

Perpetual futures funding rates for bitcoin and ether remain mildly positive on an annualized basis, indicating a modest bullish bias among traders. However, funding rates for XRP and SOL remain slightly negative.

Volatility indicators also point to relative stability. The 30-day implied volatility indexes for bitcoin and ether are holding within recent ranges, while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has fallen back to about 21% from Monday’s spike near 28%.

In the options market on Deribit, bearish put skews in bitcoin and ether have eased somewhat, though demand for higher-strike call options—bets on further price increases—has grown. Block trades have also shown interest in call calendar diagonal spreads for both assets.

Token developments

Elsewhere in the market, layer-1 blockchain project MANTRA completed a token migration and rebrand, replacing the legacy OM ticker with MANTRA and implementing a 1-for-4 redenomination. The move helped push the token’s price up about 25% over the past 24 hours.

Privacy-focused tokens had a difficult February, with Zcash, Dash and Monero experiencing sharp corrections after a bullish start to the year. However, monero appears to be regaining momentum, rising about 5.2% since midnight UTC and nearly 10% over the past week.

Large-cap cryptocurrencies have led gains across the market. The CoinDesk 5 Index and CoinDesk 10 Index each climbed roughly 3.1% over the past 24 hours. In contrast, the CoinDesk DeFi Select Index and CoinDesk Computing Select Index posted more modest increases of about 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Looking ahead, analysts say that if bitcoin can continue advancing toward $80,000 and establish stability at higher levels, some of the profits from major tokens could eventually flow into higher-risk altcoins. For now, however, traders appear to be taking a cautious stance as the market consolidates after its latest breakout.