- Bitcoin remained steady around $87,500 with a 2% gain over 24 hours during U.S. afternoon trading.
- Altcoins like ether, XRP, and solana also showed modest price increases.
- Crypto-related stocks rebounded, with gains in Strategy and Coinbase shares following the previous downturn.
- Asset managers may rebalance portfolios by year-end, potentially increasing bitcoin inflows due to its relative underperformance this quarter.
- Market participants are cautious, with low derivatives activity and declining spot trading volumes indicating hesitation to take new risks.
Bitcoin traded near $87,500 in U.S. afternoon sessions, maintaining close to a 2% gain over the past 24 hours after an active morning. Other cryptocurrencies, including ether ($2,946), XRP ($1.92), and solana ($128), experienced similar upward movements. Crypto-related stocks also recovered from Monday’s losses, with shares of Strategy (MSTR) rising 3% and Coinbase (COIN) advancing 1%.
“Clients are positioned with cautious optimism,” stated Josh Barkhoarder, head of sales at FalconX, noting that many investors expect crypto markets to stay range-bound until a clear catalyst emerges. Investors are reportedly maintaining core bitcoin holdings while keeping cash available elsewhere.
With the year-end approaching, bitcoin may see portfolio rebalancing inflows. Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33, pointed out that asset managers often adjust allocations to meet predefined targets. Since bitcoin has underperformed the S&P 500 by about 26% this quarter, this could trigger excess inflows in the final trading days of the year and early January.
Lunde highlighted that previous quarters showed bitcoin’s gains following a period of underperformance and vice versa. Such rebalancing occurs as managers realign weightings in their portfolios.
Despite price stabilization, crypto traders remain cautious. On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), derivatives activity is near annual lows. Bitcoin futures open interest held steady at around 124,000 BTC, while perpetual swap funding rates stayed near neutral, signaling limited short-term directional bets.
Additionally, spot crypto trading volumes have declined by 12% over the past week, further indicating reduced trader engagement as the year draws to a close.
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