Bitcoin dominance has taken a noticeable dip as Hyperliquid, a rising force in the DeFi ecosystem, posted a new record spot volume of $3.4 billion over a 24-hour period. This shift points to dynamic changes across the crypto market, driven by a combination of institutional interest, platform innovation, and evolving derivatives activity.

Bitcoin Weakens Despite Favorable Market Signals

Recent market activity shows bitcoin (BTC) losing momentum despite dovish remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Following those comments, BTC retraced to levels observed prior to his statement, hovering near $107,500. Technical analysts warn that slipping below this support could open the door to further downside.

Further analysis shows traders shifting interest from bitcoin to ether, signaling potential changing preferences among large investors. BTC’s share of market dominance dropped from 60% to 57%, hinting that whales might be positioning for Ethereum to outperform in the near future.

Singapore-based QCP Capital noted, “BTC dominance slipped from 60% to 57% on the rotation. While still above the sub-50% levels of the 2021 altcoin season, positioning is feeding talk that whales expect ETH to outperform. If staking ETFs for ETH win approval later this year, that narrative would gain further support.”

Derivatives Activity Signals Strategic Shifts

• Open interest in BTC and Hyperliquid (HYPE) futures rose by 1% and 3%, respectively, over the last day, going against the downward trend in other top cryptocurrencies.
• Despite a recent rally, total open interest in USD and USDT-denominated perpetual futures stabilized Friday but later rose from roughly 260,000 BTC to 282,000 BTC. This trend indicates traders are leaning into “sell on rally” strategies.
• Ether showed contrasting behavior. Open interest increased during the rally but declined with the latest price pullback, suggesting a cooling-off zone rather than outright bearishness.
• Most cryptocurrencies (except ADA) have positive funding rates, reflecting a bullish tilt among traders.
• Altcoin futures hit a breakout, gaining over $9.2 billion in open interest in just one day, propelling the cumulative total to a historic $61.7 billion. Analysts at Glassnode highlighted this surge as a sign of increasing leverage and volatility within altcoin markets.
• Ether options on CME hit a notional record of over $1 billion in open interest, underlining the growing conviction behind ETH. Likewise, ether futures surged past 2 million ETH in open positions.
• Bitcoin options also gained traction with $4.85 billion in notional open interest — the highest since April.
• On Deribit, bitcoin traders continued to favor put options heading into December, a pattern that diverges from the broader bullish sentiment post-Powell. Ether traders, by contrast, are leaning slightly toward call options.

Hyperliquid’s Explosive Growth Adds Market Depth

• Hyperliquid shattered previous records by logging $3.4 billion in 24-hour spot trading volume, driven heavily by an uptick in BTC and ETH deposits and trades executed via its Hyperunit.
• This performance pushed Hyperliquid into the number two spot globally for BTC spot trading volume across both centralized and decentralized platforms, with $1.5 billion in bitcoin activity.
• Such scale has made it increasingly attractive to institutional players who seek platforms that can manage large orders with reliable throughput.
• The system’s foundation—HyperCore running on a customized Layer-1 infrastructure with HyperBFT consensus—ensures sub-second transaction finality, while HyperEVM maintains seamless Ethereum compatibility. These features attract both DeFi developers and high-frequency traders alike.
• Hyperliquid’s continued momentum in spot activity enhances its standing as a liquidity hub within decentralized finance, reinforcing its pitch as a scalable service provider likened to the “AWS of liquidity.”
• Spot market dominance complements the platform’s existing leadership in perpetuals. Hyperliquid captures around 60%–70% of decentralized exchange market share and even outpaces Ethereum itself in on-chain revenue generation.
• The scaling of spot activity has a direct impact on HYPE token holders through buybacks funded by trading fees. These buybacks occur via the platform’s Assistance Fund, linking overall usage with long-term token valuation.

Hyperliquid set a 24-hour spot trading record, hitting $3.4 billion in volume.

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