Bitcoin Stuck in Range Post-Fed as Altcoins and Memecoins Lag
Bitcoin remains range-bound after the Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point rate cut, while altcoins and memecoins continue to struggle amid shifting investor sentiment.
Over the past week, BTC ($90,237.24) has traded between $88,000 and $94,000, briefly dipping below $90,000 before recovering. Typically, rate cuts boost risk assets by reducing the appeal of cash, but bitcoin and broader crypto have shown muted reactions. The CoinDesk 20 Index is up 0.57% since midnight UTC.
Altcoins remain weak, with JUP ($0.2021), KAS ($0.04612), and QNT ($79.72) posting double-digit weekly losses.
Derivatives and Market Trends
- BTC’s 30-day implied volatility (Volmex BVIV) has dropped to its lowest since Nov. 10; ETH volatility is also near multi-month lows.
- Deribit data shows put biases intact for BTC and ETH, with calendar spreads dominating block flows.
- ZEC open interest surged 16% to 2.28M, nearing record highs, while HYPE, SUI, and SOL also saw gains. BTC and ETH OI remain flat.
Altcoins and Memecoins
Privacy coins led gains, with ZEC up 9% in 24 hours. AAVE, HYPE, and LIDO saw intraday recoveries, but weekly results remain muted. CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season indicator hit a cycle low of 16/100. Memecoins continue to lag, with the CoinDesk Memecoin Index down 59% YTD versus 7.3% for the CoinDesk 10.
The decline of memecoins reflects a shift from retail-driven hype to institutional strategies, including ETFs and digital asset treasuries, favoring steady, measured market movements over speculative surges.
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