Crypto Markets Today: Risk-Off Mood Persists as Altcoins Extend Losses

Market Overview - The crypto market is experiencing "extreme fear" following a sell-off, with Bitcoin trading around $87,000, down from a high of $92,350 last week, indicating a lack of recovery and eroded investor confidence [1] - The altcoin market is also struggling, with several tokens, particularly privacy coins, posting losses of over 5% in the last 24 hours [2] Performance Metrics - Bitcoin has retraced almost the entire rally from November 21-28, underperforming U.S. equities, which saw the Nasdaq Composite Index rise by 6.6% during the same period [2] - Open interest in futures tied to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP has declined by as much as 6% in the past 24 hours, reflecting diminished investor confidence [5] Volatility and Derivatives - Bitcoin's 90-day annualized basis has collapsed to cycle lows of around 4%-5%, while Ether's basis is nearing 3%-4%, indicating a significant drop in futures versus spot prices [5] - The 30-day implied volatility index for Bitcoin is rising relative to Wall Street's VIX index, suggesting heightened uncertainty in the crypto market [5] Altcoin Performance - The altcoin market continues to lag, with Ether and XRP each sliding by approximately 0.6% in 24 hours, while Bitcoin posted a slight gain of 0.75% [5] - Privacy coins, particularly Zcash (ZEC), have been severely impacted, with an 8% decline in the last 24 hours and a total drop of 33% over the past week [5] DeFi Interest - The "altcoin season" indicator remains stagnant at 24/100, indicating a preference for Bitcoin and select DeFi tokens despite the overall market decline [5] - SKY, formerly MKR, saw a 6.7% increase after announcing token buybacks, while the USDS token's market cap grew from $7.6 billion to $9.5 billion in two months, attracting DeFi interest [5]