Bitcoin holds range as leverage builds in ether and cardano: Crypto Markets Today

CoinDesk

by Oliver Knight

February 26, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Bitcoin remains range-bound between $62,500 and $71,100 as altcoins like DOT and UNI surge. While BTC showed resilience near $70,000 during a volatile U.S. session Wednesday, it cooled off in Asia Thursday, trading around $68,600. This range has been consistent since early February, with Bitcoin testing both upper and lower limits but failing to break out significantly. The derivatives market is heating up, with total crypto futures open interest rising over 6.6% to nearly $100 billion. Notably, ADA and ETH saw a 21% and 15% increase in open interest, respectively, suggesting leverage rather than spot buying is driving their gains. Bitcoin's futures open interest also rose by over 3%, likely due to its recent price appreciation. Layer-1 tokens like DOT and UNI outperformed the broader market. DOT jumped 21% ahead of its March reward halving event, while UNI surged 15% following a governance vote to boost revenue capture across Layer-2 networks. However, ATOM underperformed, dropping over 6%, reflecting ongoing liquidity issues in altcoins. Other tokens also saw significant moves. ADA and ETH both rose around 8.5%, supported by increased leverage rather than spot demand. Meanwhile, Layer-1 tokens like DCR and HYPE showed resilience, with

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Originally published on CoinDesk on 2/26/2026