Bitcoin rose above $82,000 Wednesday morning in Europe, gaining 1.3% since midnight UTC, fueled by a weakening U.S. dollar. The dollar slipped 0.5% after Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled the U.S. had achieved its military objectives and sought no further escalation, driving oil prices lower and raising expectations the Federal Reserve may pivot to rate cuts.
Ether rose 0.8% to $2,380 but remains below its April 17 high of $2,460, underperforming bitcoin. Altcoins outperformed, with privacy coins Zcash (ZEC) up 14% and Dash (DASH) up 16% since midnight UTC, with no clear catalyst beyond renewed investor confidence after a prolonged consolidation. The CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) also gained, with Chainlink (LINK) up 3.1% and Bittensor (TAO) up 2%.
Bitcoin futures open interest remains near a record 800K BTC, but funding rates are flat to slightly positive-indicating steady demand rather than speculative frenzy. Deribit saw heavy call buying at strikes from $82,000 to $115,000. Volatility compression continues, with the ether volatility index falling to 55%, a level last seen on Jan. 31, supporting bullish spot price action.