Bitcoin Holds Steady as ECB Forum Looms, Traders Gear for Volatility Shift

Bitcoin held near $108,000 over the weekend, as traders turned their focus to a high-stakes week of global macro events, headlined by the European Central Bank’s annual policy forum in Sintra and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s appearance on Tuesday.

Though price action has been muted, signals from derivatives and on-chain markets suggest that volatility may soon return. Traders are closely watching for shifts in central bank rhetoric that could tip risk appetite across both crypto and traditional markets.

“Whales are aggressively moving large volumes onto centralized exchanges,” Axel Adler Jr., an independent on-chain analyst and frequent CryptoQuant contributor, said. 

Adler notes that this pattern, combined with declining exchange reserves and weakening stablecoin inflows, typically precedes periods of elevated volatility. 

“As long as Bitcoin holds $108,000, the base scenario is upward movement with targets at $112,000,” he wrote in his Adler’s Insights newsletter on Sunday.

The backdrop comes as Powell is expected to reiterate the Fed’s cautious stance on interest rates, citing the need for more clarity on inflation and labor markets before easing begins. 

The ECB Forum, themed “Adapting to change,” will feature Powell alongside ECB President Christine Lagarde and other central bankers as they address how policy is evolving in a fragile economic landscape.

Even before Sintra, derivatives traders have begun positioning around the volatility pivot. 

On Saturday, Cole Kennelly, founder of Volmex Finance, pointed to $806,000 in recent trading volume for synthetic Ethereum and Bitcoin volatility index perpetuals on gTrade. The sharp increase suggests growing demand for exposure to directional volatility as markets await policy cues.

Bitcoin options activity reflects that caution. 

“About 20% of open interest on Derive is clustered around downside puts,” Nick Forster, founder of Derive.xyz, told Decrypt, highlighting positions at $85,000 $100,000, and $106,000 strikes. “Bitcoin traders are bracing for macro uncertainty or post-rally profit-taking.”

In other words, the options market indicates that Bitcoin traders are cautious, hedging against risks tied to the macroeconomic backdrop as they cluster around lower strike puts.

Ethereum markets, by contrast, are leaning bullish, with elevated call activity at $2,900 and $3,200, Forster said.

“This positioning seems to be driven by anticipation of ETHCC in Cannes—a major event historically associated with product announcements and ecosystem growth,” Forster added. “Traders are clearly expecting catalysts that could drive upward momentum.”