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Digital assets firmed over the week, led by mega caps, with Bitcoin +8.1%, ETH +8.6%, and Solana nearing a +10% rebound. Thematic gauges (CF Classification Series) reflected resurgent sentiment with CF Web 3.0 Smart Contract Platforms Index +7.2% and DeFi +5.7%. Staking softened. BVX charted Bitcoin implied volatility higher, like realized. BTC funding tightened somewhat.
Market Performance Update
Digital assets rallied week-on-week, led by higher-beta majors. Bitcoin advanced +8.12%, Ether gained +8.55%, while Solana (SOL) rebounded +9.46%, setting the tone. Meanwhile other large caps also climbed, sealing a broad-based rally at the higher-capitalized end. Cardano (ADA) +5.53%, Chainlink (LINK) +4.58%, XRP (XRP) +3.26%. Only Avalanche (AVAX) +0.09%, lagged the move in this series. The pattern points to a risk-on bid with breadth skewed to the top end, albeit still somewhat selective moving down the capitalization strata. Follow-through into early week sessions is likely to hinge on whether flows persist beyond leaders.
Sector Analysis
Sector performance was broadly constructive week-on-week, with dispersion contained and no discernibly outsized rotations - looking through our CF Digital Asset Classification Structure (CF DACS) prism. Leadership appeared balanced across core Infrastructure and Services cohorts, consistent with a market biased to liquidity and transactional activity rather than narrow, attention-led themes. In short, this was a “beta first” week; with little disruption to ‘style’ narratives, and sector breadth improved versus recent de-risking phases. Standouts included: the Payment & Store of Value Segment (within the Settlement category) +12.5% week-on-week, the Culture Sub-Category’s Gaming segment, +8.2% w/w, Scaling (an Infrastructure Sub-Category) +4.6% w/w, and Meme Coins in Culture +3.5% w/w.
CF Staking Series
Staking indices were softer week-on-week even as spot rallied: APT staking edged −0.16% lower, equating to a −1.03 bps reward-rate move. ETH staking retreated −0.60%, or −1.54 bps, while NEAR was almost static, ticking down −0.03% (−0.28 bps). Meanwhile, SOL staking showed the most definitive reversal, falling −5.57 bps, or −0.90%. The slight drift lower in reward rates points to a marginal easing in staking carry, week-on-week, with SOL bearing the brunt.
Market Cap Index Performance
Moves were orderly across size tiers week-on-week. The CF Broad Cap Index (Diversified Weight) advanced +7.34%, CF Large Cap (Diversified Weight) gained +7.53%, CF Ultra Cap 5 rose +7.87%, and the CF Institutional Digital Asset Index climbed +8.19%. The rank order suggests buyers prioritized depth and liquidity, reflected by Ultra Cap and Large Cap edging Broad Cap for the week. That pattern is consistent with systematic and benchmark-aware inflows.
Classification Series Analysis
Thematics firmed week-on-week. The CF Web 3.0 Smart Contract Platforms Index rose +7.16%, the CF DeFi Composite Index gained +5.67%, and the CF Digital Culture Composite Index added +3.68%. The rebound was led by platforms and DeFi, with Culture participating but trailing; a profile typical of up-weeks where utility and liquidity screens draw incremental demand. Momentum improved versus the prior de-risking stretch, though leadership remains concentrated in higher-quality constituents.
Volatility Analysis
Bitcoin implied and realized volatility both rose week-on-week: BVX advanced 2.11 points to 38.97, while realized increased +2.36 pts to 26.70. With realized up a touch more than implied, the implied vs. realized vol. gap narrowed slightly, indicating follow-through in underlying returns rather than a pure hedging bid. The surface remains orderly; this was an adjustment higher in vol. levels, like the prior week, bereft of major nasty surprises.
Interest Rate Analysis
Funding curves diverged week-on-week. On the Bitcoin side, SIRB firmed with a +2.28-percentage point gain to 3.03%, while 1M rose +1.60 pp 3.25%, pointing to tighter BTC-linked funding. By contrast, the USDT curve eased, with 1W contracting from to 8.66% to 6.27% (−2.39 pp) and 1M from 8.69% to 6.29% (−2.40 pp). This mix implies improving basis on BTC tenors even as dollar-stablecoin carry compresses at the front and belly of the curve, week-on-week.
Index data based on CF Benchmarks Settlement Rates, published at 16:00 London Time
