Markets Today: Bitcoin Struggles at $111K as Altcoins Take the Spotlight

Bitcoin Stuck at $111K as Altcoins Gain Ground

Crypto markets saw $250 million in derivatives liquidations over the past day, even as volatility remained contained.

Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $111,000, down nearly 3% over the last month. Its share of total crypto market capitalization has slipped from 61% to 57%, signaling traders are rotating into altcoins.

Ethereum (ETH) rose 1.1% overnight and is up 21% in 30 days, while Solana (SOL) added 0.43% on the session and has surged 27.5% in a month. The CoinDesk 20 Index climbed 0.46% intraday and is now 1.7% higher over 24 hours, with every constituent advancing.

Nick Forster, founder of Derive.xyz, noted ETH has a 44% chance of reaching $6,000 by end-2025. “ETF demand is rising sharply—holdings jumped by 250,000 ETH last week to 6.74 million,” he said.

Derivatives Landscape

• Open interest across perpetuals reached $114B, Laevitas data show.
• Binance liquidation heatmaps show clusters at $112,200 ($90M) and $110,000 ($76.6M).
• On Deribit, 26.4K BTC options contracts traded in 24h, with calls at 51.6%. Biggest positions: $108K puts and $114K calls, both expiring Sept. 26.
• Funding rates remain positive across most majors, except TRX, which posts a -10.2% APR.

Altcoin Outperformance

BTC’s weak showing contrasts with growing altcoin strength:

• BTC: -2.9% (30 days)
• ETH: +21% (30 days)
• SOL: +27.5% (30 days)

Institutional treasuries accumulating altcoins, combined with a market reset after BTC’s $124K record, have fueled the shift. Historically, BTC dominance has fallen as low as 39%, leaving room for further altcoin gains.

Some tokens remain oversold against BTC on RSI metrics, suggesting the rotation could extend in coming weeks.