Bitcoin Tests Three-Month High: Most Altcoins Lag Behind the Rally

While Bitcoin reached a three-month peak by testing $81,455, most altcoins retreated by 2-3%, and the Altcoin Season index remained at 34/100.

Bitcoin climbed as high as $81,455 during the overnight hours, reaching its highest level seen since May 15. However, the price later pulled back and began trading at approximately $79,850, according to the latest data from CoinDesk. Bitcoin’s surge did not spread to altcoins to the same extent.

Bitcoin has gained approximately 26 percent in value since August 19. In contrast, most altcoins fell between 2 percent and 3 percent during the day. The Altcoin Season index at the 34/100 level showed that investor interest is still predominantly concentrated in Bitcoin.

Mixed signals in futures trading

While the total value of active contracts in futures trading remained over $140 billion, trading volume rose by approximately 10 percent to $222 billion. The sell side slightly outweighed the buy side in trades; short positions accounted for 51 percent of the total flow.

Open interest in Solana (SOL) futures rose to 70.88 million SOL, reaching the highest level since early July. However, the flow indicator, which compares transactions executed by buyers and sellers at market price, turned negative. This outlook suggests that despite the rising positions in SOL, sell-side transactions could be more aggressive.

Monero (XMR), on the other hand, diverged from the general decline in altcoins, rising to approximately $464. In XMR futures, the funding rate—the fee paid by long leveraged position holders to short position holders to keep trades open—reached an annualized 67 percent; this level indicates that long trades have become crowded. While call contracts stood out in Ethereum and Bitcoin options, the most heavily traded level for Bitcoin was the $85,000 call option maturing on September 26.