If you were hoping for a dramatic crypto rally to distract from awkward Thanksgiving dinner conversations, you were out of luck. The major cryptocurrencies mostly treaded water on Thursday as traders logged off for turkey and football.

Here's where things stood as of 8:30 p.m. ET:

The Thanksgiving Pause That Wasn't a Rally

Bitcoin ran into resistance at the $92,000 level, a price point that analysts have been watching closely. The apex cryptocurrency couldn't quite break through, and with trading volume dropping 17% over the previous 24 hours, there wasn't much firepower to push it higher.

Ethereum spent the holiday consolidating around the $3,000 mark, though its trading volume took an even bigger hit, plunging 23%. Meanwhile, XRP and Dogecoin both posted losses on what's supposed to be a festive day.

To put recent price action in perspective, Bitcoin has already dropped 17% this month, while Ethereum has plunged 22%. Those losses closely mirror the declines recorded back in November 2022, which probably isn't the kind of nostalgia crypto investors were hoping for.

Cryptocurrency liquidations reached $167 million in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass. Interestingly, nearly $100 million of that came from short positions getting erased, suggesting some traders betting against crypto got caught on the wrong side.

Open interest tells a similar story of diminished activity. Bitcoin's open interest fell 2.64% in the last 24 hours, while funds locked in Ethereum's futures contracts slid by over 4%.

The Gainers (Yes, There Were Some)

Not everything was down on Thursday. Among cryptocurrencies with market caps above $100 million, here were the top performers:

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.12 trillion, following an increase of 2.84% in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Stock Futures Inched Higher

Stock futures rose modestly Thursday evening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures climbed 57 points, or 0.12%, as of 7:47 p.m. EDT. Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.11%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures added 0.13%.

The stock market has been wrestling with concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble this month. But this holiday-shortened week brought a welcome rebound, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite up 3.1% and 4.22%, respectively. Growing expectations of a rate cut next month helped fuel the rally.

Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Markets will close early at 1:00 p.m. on Friday.

What Analysts Are Watching

Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez identified $84,570 as the support level "that matters" for Bitcoin, while flagging $112,340 as the key resistance to watch. Those levels could determine whether Bitcoin continues consolidating or makes a decisive move in either direction.

Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant made an interesting observation about Ethereum. Among major cryptocurrencies, Ethereum currently has the "strongest futures appetite" relative to its spot volume, which suggests high speculative interest.

"A rising futures multiple typically forms when market participants anticipate stronger short-term price movement, and the data indicates that ETH traders are increasingly positioning ahead of potential trend acceleration," CryptoQuant emphasized.

In other words, traders might be gearing up for Ethereum to make a bigger move soon. Whether that move is up or down remains to be seen, but the positioning suggests people are expecting something to happen.