Hello, Asia. Here’s what’s making news on the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of the top news stories during U.S. business hours and insight into market movements and analysis. For a detailed look at US markets, check out CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
Bitcoin trading above $110,000 and Ether at $3,880 as Hong Kong begins its business week.
Both major digital assets have declined significantly over the past 30 days, with BTC in the red by 10% and ETH by 14%, as traders continue to consolidate their positions.
In a note, market maker FlowDesk said its clients had mostly paused adding new risks after last week’s Federal Reserve meeting, with flows dominated by short-term trading strategies and portfolio rebalancing.
Still, they wrote in the note, traders showed net purchases of BTC, HYPE and SYRUP, tokens backed by cash flow or buyback narratives, even as Solana-related assets lagged alongside an increase in Bitcoin dominance to around 60%. FlowDesk wrote that many traders now appear underexposed if the market rebounds, suggesting cleaner positioning after prior deleveraging.
In the derivatives market, however, fear remains the dominant feeling.
According to CoinGlass data, approximately $155 million in crypto derivatives were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $97 million in long positions and $58 million in short positions wiped out. This trend suggests a moderate wave of overleveraged long positions rather than widespread panic selling, as funding rates and borrowing costs continue to normalize.
FlowDesk observed elevated put skew and continued caution despite calmer volatility, while call selling and put buying dominated BTC and ETH options.
Cheap risk reversals could be attractive if spot markets stabilize, FlowDesk wrote, with volatility likely to decline through the end of the year.
On the credit side, demand for altcoin borrowing remains strong as traders exploit negative funding and cover locked tokens, while benchmark lending rates for DeFi protocols on Ethereum have increased from 5.6% to 5.3%.
Overall, crypto markets are starting the week in wait-and-see mode, looking for a catalyst that has yet to materialize.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin held steady around $110,300 on Monday, showing signs of stabilization after a week of profit-taking and modest deleveraging in derivatives markets.
ETFs: Ether traded near $3,900, rising as traders carefully rebuilt their exposure following last week’s market-wide pullback.
Gold: Gold closed at around $4,003 an ounce, down 0.5% on Friday after rebounding from a two-week low earlier in the week. Despite hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve and a stronger dollar reducing the chances of a rate cut in December, the metal still gained 3.7% in October for its third consecutive monthly increase, with geopolitical tensions and budgetary uncertainty in the United States keeping demand for safe havens intact.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s main stock index continues to rise above 52,000 as investors are optimistic about developments in U.S.-China trade and strong profits from tech giants.
Elsewhere in crypto
- Canaan deal with Japan marks first state-linked Bitcoin mining project in the country (The Block)
- November Could Be the New October for US Crypto ETFs After Shutdown Delays SEC Decisions (CoinDesk)
- Court Rejects Crypto Bank Custodia’s Bid to Extract Master Account from Reluctant Fed (Decrypt)
