Wintermute: Oversupply and token unlocking drag down altcoins; mainstream coins receive support from spot buying, but derivatives dominate price discovery.

Wintermute, in an article on the X platform, stated that as the holidays approach, market structure continues to narrow, with Bitcoin's dominance rising. Altcoins continue to underperform due to oversupply and a dense token unlocking schedule. Internal flow data shows buying pressure on mainstream coins, with institutional funds consistently being the source of buying since the summer, while retail investors are rotating back from altcoins to mainstream coins. Although spot buyers provide a stabilizing foundation for the market, price discovery is still conducted through derivatives, resulting in a coexistence of net buying in mainstream coins and intraday plunges triggered by leveraged liquidations. Furthermore, traditional financial institutions are steadily entering the crypto space, which is expected to provide support for prices in the medium term. In the short term, the market will continue to fluctuate in a illiquid environment, with BTC and ETH continuing to act as the main risk absorbers.