Bitcoin is holding near strong levels after its surge above $80,000, with interest in spot ETFs remaining the main market driver: funds have recorded an eighth consecutive day of net inflows, while many altcoins appear weaker and are losing momentum.
The largest cryptocurrency climbed above $80,000 and added more than 1% since the start of the UTC day. After last week's explosive growth, the market looks calmer, but beneath the surface, steady demand from institutional investors persists.
Data from SoSoValue shows that inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs remain one of the key demand signals:
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $2.8 billion over 8 consecutive trading days.
- This marks the longest streak of net inflows since April.
- Bitcoin has gained approximately 23% over the week.
- Interest from large participants remains.
For the market, it's also important that Bitcoin has long been perceived not just as a speculative asset. Its core idea is linked to blockchain, a peer-to-peer network, and open-source software: such a payment system allows for the direct transfer of value, without the traditional model where every bank transaction goes through intermediaries.
How Bitcoin Works
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency: the network operates without a single governing center, and users can transfer $BTC directly to each other.
The foundation of the network is the blockchain. Transactions are grouped into blocks, blocks are linked into a chain, and copies of this history are stored by network participants. This makes it extremely difficult to alter already confirmed records.
Mining is the process where miners, using computational power, verify transactions, add new blocks, and receive rewards. This is how the network confirms transfers and issues new coins.
The maximum supply of Bitcoin is limited to 21 million $BTC. New coins appear gradually through mining, so the remaining portion to be mined decreases over time.
The creation of Bitcoin is associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. The project emerged in 2009 as an attempt to build internet money without a central intermediary; later, exchanges, wallets, a mining industry, and a market for institutional products formed around the network.
How to Buy, Store, and Use $BTC
Bitcoin can typically be purchased through crypto exchanges, exchangers, or P2P deals. Storage depends on the level of control: hot wallets are more convenient for frequent operations, while cold wallets are suitable for long-term storage and reduce dependence on online services.
$BTC is used for transfers, payments where accepted, and as an investment asset. For investors who don't need direct transfer of coins to a wallet, there are Bitcoin ETFs: the fund tracks the price of Bitcoin, and shares in it can be purchased through familiar brokerage infrastructure. This format simplifies access to $BTC and reduces the operational complexities of storage.
Forecasts, Risks, and Data Sources
It's impossible to say exactly how much 1 Bitcoin will cost in 2030. The price will be influenced by ETF inflows, spot demand, regulatory decisions, news, limited supply, speculative activity, and the situation in the risky asset market. Scenarios can vary greatly: from continued growth with high institutional demand to deep pullbacks if regulation tightens or liquidity dries up.
Bitcoin's high volatility is related to its limited supply, high share of speculative demand, and sensitivity to news. Among the main risks are regulatory, technical, and market-related: from pressure by authorities to storage errors, hacks of services, and sharp liquidations in derivatives.
Tracking the market is aided by data sources and analysts: SoSoValue shows ETF flows, CoinMarketCap provides market indices and token dynamics, Deribit is useful for assessing options activity.
What Supported Bitcoin's Growth
The rally was spurred by the US Treasury's decision to double the buyback of long-term bonds. Following this, Bitcoin broke out of a six-week trading range, and over $3 billion worth of short positions were liquidated in the market.
The effect of this move is still noticeable. The risky asset market retains support, and this helps both $BTC and gold. At the same time, investors have become more cautious towards altcoins: CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has dropped to 38 points out of 100 after a weekly high of 51 points.
In the morning in Europe, the token market looked uneven:
- Bittensor ($TAO): +5.3% since the start of the day; continues to recover from August lows around $185.
- Zcash ($ZEC): around -4% since the start of the day.
- : around -4% since the start of the day.
Futures and Options: The Market Grows, But Without Overheating
- Futures overall: activity over the last 24 hours increased, trading volume rose by 6%, and open interest by 3%. The long/short volume ratio remained around 51.3%, indicating noticeable demand from liquidity buyers.
- $BTC above $80,000: Open interest remained roughly at the level of 700,000 $BTC. This reduces the risk of cascading liquidations and makes the movement more sustainable, as the growth is more reliant on spot demand.
- Ether: Open interest in futures rose to 13.53 million tokens compared to 13.10 million a day earlier. This is a weekly high, but the figure is still significantly below the May peak of 15.68 million.
- $SOL: Open interest increased by 5% and reached 67.96 million $SOL, a high since July 9th. This coincided with the spot price breaking above $100 and indicates active long position opening.
- XRP, GRAM, CRO, and SHIB: Open interest increased over the last 24 hours. $ZEC, on the other hand, became one of the leaders in the decline of this indicator.
- Large tokens: The positive cumulative volume delta adjusted for open interest shows that buyers remain active. Annual funding rates for perpetual contracts remain positive but below 10%, meaning there are no clear signs of overheating yet.
- Bitcoin Volatility: The 30-day implied volatility index rose from 42% to 46% along with the spot price increase. This indicates increased demand for options and other hedging instruments.
- Options Positioning: Deribit notes that institutional participants bought downside protection through put options with longer expiries, while short-term traders tried to profit from continued growth.
- Bitcoin Options: Over 24 hours, there was predominant interest in call options with strikes from $70,000 to $85,000. Higher strikes attracted more activity than options below the current spot price.
- Ethereum Options: Call options dominated. An exception was a put with a $2,150 strike and expiry on September 25th, which ranked first by volume.
Which Tokens Stood Out in the Market
- Bittensor ($TAO): up ,3%; price around $247; over the week %; the token continued its recovery from August lows around $185.
- Morpho (MORPHO): up ,7%; price around $2.60; over the week %; trading activity increased along with sustained risk appetite in DeFi.
- Ethena ($ENA): up ,5%; price around $0.151; previously the token had gained 61% over the week; $ENA remains one of the notable winners of the altcoin rally, though still well below levels preceding a multi-month drop of over 90%.
- Zcash ($ZEC): down 4.1% over the day; price around $783; over seven days %; the token gave back part of its recent gains but remained among the week's leaders.
The return of attention to Bitcoin after reaching monthly highs has become a key market theme. Altcoins still show some strong individual movements, but the overall sentiment is now shaped around ETF inflows, spot demand, and more cautious positioning in derivatives.
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