Asia Morning Briefing: Cautious Calm Returns to BTC Markets as Traders Rebuild Risk

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

Bitcoin BTC$109,738.02 is trading above $110,000, and Ether is at $3,880 as Hong Kong begins its business week.

Both major digital assets are down significantly in the last 30 days, with BTC in the red by 10% and ETH 14% as traders continue to consolidate positions.

In a note, market maker FlowDesk said that its clients have mostly paused adding new risk 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 buying in BTC, HYPE, and SYRUP, tokens supported by cashflow or buyback narratives, even as Solana-linked assets lagged alongside a rise in Bitcoin dominance to roughly 60%. FlowDesk wrote that many traders now appear underexposed if the market rebounds, suggesting cleaner positioning after earlier deleveraging.

In the derivatives market, however, fear remains the prevailing mood.

Roughly $155 million in crypto derivatives were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data, with $97 million in long positions and $58 million in shorts wiped out. The pattern suggests a moderate flush of overleveraged longs rather than broad panic selling, as funding rates and borrowing costs continue to normalize.

FlowDesk observed elevated put skew and lingering caution despite calmer volatility, while call selling and put buying dominated both BTC and ETH options.

Cheap risk reversals could appeal if spot markets stabilize, FlowDesk wrote, with volatility likely to drift lower into year-end.

On the credit side, borrowing demand for altcoins remains strong as traders exploit negative funding and hedge locked tokens, while benchmark lending rates for DeFi protocols on Ethereum have eased to 5.3% from 5.6%.

Overall, crypto markets begin the week in a wait-and-see mode, looking for a catalyst that has yet to materialize.

BTC: Bitcoin held steady around $110,300 on Monday, showing signs of stabilization after a week of profit-taking and modest deleveraging across derivatives markets.

ETH: Ether traded near $3,900, edging higher as traders cautiously rebuilt exposure following last week’s market-wide pullback.

Gold: Gold closed at about $4,003 per ounce, easing 0.5% Friday after rebounding from a two-week low earlier in the week. Despite hawkish Federal Reserve comments and a stronger dollar cutting December rate-cut odds, the metal still gained 3.7% in October for its third straight monthly rise as geopolitical tension and U.S. fiscal uncertainty kept haven demand intact.

Nikkei 225: Japan’s main stock index continues to push above 52,000 as investors are optimistic about U.S. – China trade developments and solid earnings from tech giants.

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