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On September 18, 2026, despite macroeconomic uncertainties, some altcoins are recording significant gains in the Binance USDT-M futures market, drawing the attention of investors. Amidst ongoing tightening policies, with the US 2-year Treasury yield at 4.74% and the Dollar Index maintaining a high level of 118.2126, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a slight increase of +0.34% to $76,407.0, and Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.29% to $2,447.12, showing robust performance. The Fear & Greed Index, a measure of investor sentiment, rose from 50 (Neutral) yesterday to 56 (Greed), indicating a slight increase in market optimism. However, within this overall trend, the movements of individual altcoin assets show somewhat different position structures, requiring close analysis.
Looking at the top-performing assets in the Binance USDT-M futures market today, ONEUSDT, AVAUSDT, COTIUSDT, NEARUSDT, and UNIUSDT were among the top ranks. We will cross-analyze the price volatility of these assets along with Open Interest (OI), trading volume, funding rates, and recent daily candlestick data to understand the nature of each asset and predict future movements.
ONEUSDT recorded the highest gain, soaring by an impressive +81.88% in 24 hours. Its current price is $0.0019445, and the 24-hour trading volume is very high at $616.4M. Notably, the Open Interest (OI) stands at an overwhelming $6.0B. However, the funding rate is an extreme negative value of -1.99%, indicating that an overwhelmingly large number of investors have built short positions. This suggests that despite the sharp price increase, short position holders are either maintaining their positions, strongly anticipating further declines, or the surge could be a result of short position liquidations.
Looking at the recent 7-day daily candlestick data, explosive price increases on September 16 (+55.80%) and September 17 (+83.65%) were accompanied by a significant increase in trading volume. Specifically, the trading volume on September 17 reached $614.2M. However, today (September 18), the price dropped by -5.30% from an opening price of $0.0019634 to a closing price of $0.0018594, and the trading volume significantly decreased to $3.2M. This could indicate short-term profit-taking after the surge, or a weakening of the upward momentum.
In conclusion, ONEUSDT is highly likely to exhibit characteristics of a typical short squeeze-driven rebound, combining extremely high Open Interest and a very low funding rate. However, the decline from the short-term peak and the decrease in trading volume suggest that the additional short squeeze momentum may be weakening.
AVAUSDT showed high volatility, rising by +69.67% in 24 hours. Its current price is $0.264, and the 24-hour trading volume is substantial at $359.3M. Open Interest (OI) is $21.7M, relatively lower compared to ONEUSDT. The funding rate is -0.35%, showing a negative value, but not as extreme as ONEUSDT.
Daily candlestick data shows an explosive rise of +68.12% on September 17, accompanied by a trading volume of $359.1M. However, today (September 18), it showed a meager increase of +0.27% and an extremely low trading volume of $257K, indicating a significant slowdown in upward momentum. This suggests that after a short-term surge driven by buying interest, it may have entered a lull. Relatively low Open Interest can be interpreted as price appreciation due to new buying inflow rather than large-scale position liquidations.
Ultimately, AVAUSDT surged due to concentrated buying interest and trading volume in a short period, but without subsequent buying support, there is a probability of forming a short-term peak and entering a correction phase.
COTIUSDT rose by +48.07% in 24 hours. Its current price is $0.025516, and Open Interest (OI) remains high at $450.1M. The 24-hour trading volume is robust at $106.0M, and the funding rate is -0.01%, almost neutral.
Looking at daily candlestick data, it surged by +46.78% on September 17, with a trading volume of $105.6M. Today (September 18), it rose by +0.20%, but trading volume significantly decreased to $491K. Similar to AVAUSDT, trading volume decreased after a surge, but the maintenance of high Open Interest and a nearly neutral funding rate suggest that solid position holding is occurring rather than short-term profit-taking. That is, there may be a relatively good balance between new long position inflows and existing position maintenance.
COTIUSDT's price increase while Open Interest remained high suggests it might be in the early stages of a trend-driven rise. However, today's decrease in trading volume could indicate a short-term exhaustion of buying interest, so caution is needed.
NEARUSDT rose by +20.28% in 24 hours. Its current price is $3.15, and the 24-hour trading volume is very high at $632.3M. Open Interest (OI) is at a moderate level of $51.7M, and the funding rate is +0.01%, showing a slight positive value. This indicates that long positions have a slight advantage over short positions.
Daily candlestick data shows continuous increases on September 16 (+12.11%) and September 17 (+20.12%), with high trading volume of $632.0M on September 17. Today (September 18), it fell by -0.35%, but trading volume plummeted to $972K, which is likely a temporary pause. The sustained inflow of high trading volume suggests a potential trend-driven rise based on specific catalysts.
NEARUSDT has maintained a strong upward trend with high trading volume, so the probability of trend continuation is relatively high. However, today's decrease in trading volume could lead to a short-term correction, requiring cautious approach.
UNIUSDT rose by +16.45% in 24 hours. Its current price is $7.809, and the 24-hour trading volume is very high at $587.4M. Open Interest (OI) is relatively low at $22.6M, and the funding rate is +0.01%, showing a slight positive value.
Daily candlestick data shows a surge of +16.18% on September 17, with a high trading volume of $586.9M. Today (September 18), it rose by +0.45%, but trading volume significantly decreased to $601K. This highly suggests that a specific buying interest temporarily drove up the price. The fact that high trading volume was recorded despite low Open Interest implies active short-term trading movements.
Ultimately, UNIUSDT's price rose due to a rapid increase in trading volume over a short period, but with no significant change in Open Interest, it is more likely a rise due to short-term attention rather than a sustained trend. If subsequent buying interest is not sufficiently sustained, a retracement may occur.
CROSSUSDT rose by +35.37% in 24 hours, with a positive funding rate of +0.01%. After a surge of +35.16% on September 17, it rose by +0.64% today, with a significant decrease in trading volume. DRIFTUSDT rose by +31.01% with a funding rate of +0.01%. Similarly, after a surge of +30.15% on September 17, it rose by +1.70% today, but trading volume was negligible. MARSCOINUSDT rose by +26.60%, funding rate +0.01%. After a surge of +27.55% on September 17, it fell by -0.94% today, with decreased trading volume. PONSUSUSDT rose by +18.81%, with a relatively high funding rate of +0.03%. After a surge of +19.35% on September 17, it fell by -0.34% today. GENIUSUSDT rose by +18.66%, funding rate +0.01%. After a surge of +18.79% on September 17, it rose by +0.11% today, but trading volume was very low. Most of these assets also saw significant decreases in trading volume today after surging on September 17, indicating they have entered a short-term correction or lull.
Today's altcoin surges in the Binance futures market exhibited short squeeze characteristics in some assets, but most showed a pattern where they surged with high trading volume on a specific day, followed by a sharp decrease in trading volume the next day, indicating weakened upward momentum. This suggests that the rebounds are more likely attributable to short-term speculative demand or short position liquidations rather than sustained buying inflows.