This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of cryptocurrency markets and Latin American financial markets.
\nBitcoin’s bounce stalled overnight near $90,000 as ETF flows turned negative, Zcash crashed on governance turmoil, and options expiry encouraged range trading.\n\\n
Key Points
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Spot crypto ETFs swung to sizeable net outflows, cooling the post-holiday bid.
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Zcash plunged about 20% after a leadership split, turning governance risk into price risk.
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Technicals favor consolidation: weak 4-hour momentum and a still-heavy weekly backdrop.
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\n\\nBitcoin traded around $90,700 after failing to hold the mid-$90,000s. The flow reversal was the catalyst: spot Bitcoin ETFs printed roughly $486 million of net outflows midweek and around $398 million net out the next session, led by IBIT (-$193.3 million) and FBTC (-$120.5 million).\n\\n\n\\nSpot Ether ETFs saw about $98 million of outflows, while XRP-linked spot products logged their first outflow day, about $40.8 million.\n\\n\n\\nDerivatives likely magnified the chop. $1.88 billion in Bitcoin options were set to expire at 08:00 UTC, with “max pain” near $90,000 and a put/call ratio around 1.06—often a recipe for price to stick near a strike as hedges rebalance.\n\\n\n\\nETF Outflows Stall Bitcoin Near $90,000 as Zcash Governance Shock Spills Over. (Photo Internet reproduction)\n\\n\n\\nThe sharpest move came from Zcash. ZEC swung from roughly $451 to $381 intraday—about a 20% drop—after the Electric Coin Company team behind Zcash split from Bootstrap amid a governance conflict.\n\\n\n\\nCEO Josh Swihart wrote, “Yesterday, the entire ECC team left,” and traders treated the headline as a hit to continuity. Altcoins reflected selective risk.\n\\n\n\\nSolana outperformed, while meme-heavy names lagged. Smaller tokens spiked—PIPPIN (+43%), CLO (+35%), and GUN (+25%)—as PEPE (-4%) and DOGE (-1%) slid.\n\\n\n\\nOn the charts, the tone remains defensive. The 4-hour RSI sits below 50 (around 44) and MACD is still negative, though improving.\n\\n\n\\nSupport clusters near $89,300; resistance sits around $91,000–$91,700, then $93,500–$94,000. Weekly RSI is near 41 after a roughly $94,800 high and $89,200 low, with long-term overhead around $106,000.\n\\n\n\\nMacro unease is adding friction. One market note cited tariff-ruling uncertainty and flagged CME “gap-filling.” Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has argued 2026’s durability hinges on stability after October’s deleveraging shock, progress on U.S. market-structure legislation, and equities holding up.\n\\n\n\\nFor now, Bitcoin is trading less like “digital gold” and more like a speculative macro instrument driven by flows and positioning.\n
