January 16 News, the cryptocurrency market was quiet on Friday, with all major CoinDesk indices showing gains or losses of less than 1% since midnight UTC. Bitcoin maintained above $94,500, and the oscillation range since November last year was broken this week but remained stable. Zcash (ZEC) was at $411.83, APT at $1.7903, Polygon (POL) saw a slight decline, while privacy-focused payment coin Dash (DASH) continued its strong start to the year, rising over 15% since midnight and accumulating a 141% increase over the past week.
Political turmoil in Iran and Venezuela has reinforced the image of cryptocurrencies as a “safe haven,” with the market awaiting new catalysts. Mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum outperformed the US stock market this week, showing divergence in their trends. Exchanges have closed nearly $240 million in leveraged futures positions, with open interest decreasing from $146 billion to $143 billion, indicating a decline in demand for leveraged products. Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility dropped to about 2.5%, and Ethereum's volatility fell to its lowest since early 2024.
ZEC futures open interest decreased by 14% within 24 hours, leading to outflows from Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP, while Monero (XMR) open interest grew by 8%, performing notably. The annualized funding rate for ZEC plummeted to -50%, indicating overly crowded short positions, which could leave room for short squeeze opportunities. Options market data shows a significant increase in bearish bets on Bitcoin $112,000 call options, and Ethereum's iron condor strategy preference also suggests the market is seeking gains within a range during consolidation.
In token dynamics, DASH continued to lead gains on Friday, first gaining momentum during Asian trading hours, breaking through the market hours earlier than other altcoins, boosting overall altcoin market confidence. XTZ rose 8.3% from a low of $0.57 to $0.62. The CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) increased by 0.68% since midnight, while the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) was almost unchanged, indicating that altcoins remained relatively strong during mainstream coin consolidation. Traders will focus on the US market open to assess potential volatility risks during the weekend's low liquidity.
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