Bitcoin, Ethereum Slide as Stablecoin and Derivatives Activity Signals Rising Volatility - TokenPost

Bitcoin and Ethereum fell by around 3% as crypto trading shifted toward stablecoins and derivatives, a pattern often read as positioning for rising volatility. The broader market moved lower on Thursday, with Bitcoin down 2.98% to $60,722 and Ethereum down 2.64% to $1,619 over 24 hours, according to TokenPostMarket data. Large-cap tokens generally tracked the decline, while TRON was comparatively resilient, down 0.42%. Hyperliquid (HYPE) stood out with a 2.38% gain. Total crypto market capitalization was about $2.0924 trillion, with aggregate 24-hour trading volume at $93.0 billion. Despite weaker spot prices, stablecoin market capitalization rose to $285.6 billion and stablecoin volume increased 29.15% to $94.7 billion. DeFi activity also intensified, with DeFi trading volume up 18.65% to $10.8 billion. Derivatives volume surged to roughly $990.1 billion, up 32.31%.