to leave a comment.
On April 18, 2026, the cryptocurrency market is showing an overall upward trend, buoyed by positive news of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Major assets are demonstrating resilience, with Bitcoin (BTC) rising by 2.63% to $77,128.0 over 24 hours, and Ethereum (ETH) increasing by 3.08% to $2,421.01. The market's investor sentiment indicator, the Fear & Greed Index, also improved slightly from 21 ('Extreme Fear') the previous day to 26 ('Fear'), indicating a moderate reduction in investor concerns.
However, despite this overall bullish sentiment, the BTC funding rate in Binance USDT-M futures market remains slightly negative at -0.01%, and the ETH funding rate at -0.00%. This could suggest that despite the strength in the spot market, cautious sentiment or some short positions still exist in the futures market. Notably, Bitcoin's Open Interest (OI) data is currently reported as 0.0B, making it difficult to use for analysis. In contrast, some altcoins are recording high gains, drawing significant market attention. We aim to understand the hidden trends of the current market through their position structures.
MOVRUSDT captured significant market attention with an astonishing 102.22% gain over 24 hours. Its 24-hour trading volume also reached a very high $770.3M. However, Open Interest (OI) stands at $2.6M, relatively low compared to the trading volume, and the funding rate is slightly positive at +0.00%.
Looking at the daily chart data for the past 7 days, on April 17 (local time), it surged by 101.80% from $1.444 to $2.914, accompanied by an explosive trading volume of $770.2M. However, today (April 18), it recorded a negligible gain of 0.14% and an extremely low trading volume of $79K, indicating a sharp deceleration in upward momentum. This suggests that buying pressure may have been exhausted after the short-term surge.
RAREUSDT showed a significant movement, rising by 50.63% over 24 hours. Notably, despite a relatively high Open Interest (OI) of $171.7M, the funding rate recorded an extreme negative value of -0.69%. This suggests that strong short positions were established for RARE in the market, making it highly probable that this price increase was due to a short squeeze.
The daily chart data shows that on April 17, it surged by 51.20% from $0.01584 to $0.02395, with a trading volume of $62.2M. On April 18, it declined by -0.50% with a low trading volume of $297K, indicating that additional buying interest might be limited after the short-term short covering. The extreme funding rate increases the likelihood that forced liquidation of short positions drove up the price, but such movements could also lead to a temporary rebound rather than sustained trend continuation.
SOONUSDT rose by 37.30% over 24 hours, recording a high trading volume of $277.1M. Open Interest (OI) is $36.3M, and the funding rate is negative at -0.13%. According to reference materials, there was news that SOON was listed on Upbit's KRW market. This is likely to have acted as a strong individual bullish catalyst.
Looking at the daily chart, on April 17, it surged by 38.26% from $0.1571 to $0.2172, with a concentrated trading volume of $276.9M. On April 18, it declined by -0.74% and trading volume sharply decreased to $149K. The negative funding rate may have been accompanied by some liquidation of short positions, and the clear catalyst of Upbit listing seems to have attracted buying interest. However, a decrease in trading volume after a short-term surge could trigger a correction.
ETHWUSDT rose by 35.57% over 24 hours, recording a trading volume of $79.9M. Open Interest (OI) is relatively low at $6.8M, and the funding rate is slightly positive at +0.01%.
The daily chart data shows that on April 17, it surged by 35.81% from $0.2851 to $0.3872, with a trading volume of $79.9M. However, on April 18, it declined by -0.26%, and trading volume sharply decreased to $14K. The low Open Interest and reduced trading volume after the surge suggest that short-term speculative buying interest may have been quickly exhausted. The fact that the funding rate is not high indicates that the movement is more likely due to instantaneous price changes rather than excessive long position pressure.
RAVEUSDT rose by 28.88% over 24 hours, recording an overwhelming trading volume of $1.3B. However, Open Interest (OI) is very low at $5.5M compared to the trading volume, and the funding rate is negative at -0.10%.
RAVE has shown a consistent upward trend over the past 7 days. Specifically, on April 17, it surged by 29.15% from $16.99124 to $21.9445, accompanied by an enormous trading volume of $1.3B. On April 18, it rose by 0.12%, recording a low trading volume of $653K. The multi-day rise and large trading volume could suggest a trend-driven buying inflow. However, the low OI and negative funding rate also suggest the possibility that short positions were consistently liquidated, or that the strength in the spot market, combined with low liquidity in the futures market, triggered the surge. A significantly lower Open Interest compared to trading volume could mean that most transactions are for short-term profit-taking, or that futures positions are being rapidly closed.
MEGAUSDT (+30.97%), METISUSDT (+30.78%), LIGHTUSDT (+28.27%), SAPIENUSDT (+25.34%), and CLOUSDT (+25.05%) all recorded high gains over 24 hours. Most of these assets also showed a sharp rise on April 17, with trading volumes plummeting and price movements being minimal on April 18. This suggests that, similar to MOVR and ETHW, buying pressure may have been exhausted after a short-term surge, potentially leading to a correction or sideways movement. Especially for METISUSDT, with a very low OI of $784K and a negative funding rate of -0.04%, the possibility of short covering in a low liquidity environment cannot be ruled out.
The current cryptocurrency market is reacting to the macro bullish factor of easing geopolitical risks in the Middle East, creating an overall upward trend. Especially, the rise in U.S. stock markets and the improvement in the Fear & Greed Index indicate a spreading risk-on sentiment. This environment may have acted as a factor strengthening the individual upward momentum of altcoins.
However, the fact that BTC and ETH funding rates in the Binance futures market are still slightly negative or neutral suggests that market participants are not taking solely optimistic positions. Many altcoin surges occurred without high funding rates, or even with extremely negative funding rates. This makes it impossible to rule out the possibility that the primary causes were the liquidation of existing short positions (short squeezes) or rapid price changes in a low-liquidity environment, rather than a strong inflow of new long positions. The pattern of plummeting trading volume the day after a surge indicates short-term profit-taking pressure and leans towards temporary rebounds due to increased volatility rather than sustained trend continuation.
Ultimately, while the current altcoin surge is set against a backdrop of improved overall market liquidity and positive macroeconomic conditions, a close analysis of individual asset funding rates, Open Interest, and daily trading volume trends reveals that their characteristics differ. Particularly, a sharp drop in trading volume after a surge can signify a weakening of upward momentum, thus requiring high caution for new entries.
The current cryptocurrency market is generally bullish due to positive news from the Middle East, but Bitcoin and Ethereum futures funding rates are neutral. Altcoin surges are primarily attributed to short squeezes or speculative buying in low liquidity environments, and reduced trading volume after a surge indicates short-term profit-taking pressure.
to leave a comment.
하루598
·지켜보는중
반짝이는
·이거 퀘스트 깨듯이 훑어봤는데 꿀팁 좀 있네
moonrune
·믿기 힘든데, 이게 다 진짜라고?
해콩
·와 대박! 시장이 이렇게 긍정적이라니 너무 신나네요!
Pro_Storm
·흐름이 조금씩 바뀌고 있네요.