Bitcoin fell during Asian trading hours after failing to break above $94,500, dragging the broader crypto market lower.
BTC $90,338.24 dropped to around $91,530 at 10:00 a.m. UTC, down from a local high near $93,750 at midnight. The retreat follows Bitcoin’s third unsuccessful attempt in five weeks to surpass the $94,500 level.
Altcoins fared worse, with PENGU and XRP leading losses, down 6.5% and 3.5% respectively since midnight. Bitcoin is now firmly back within December’s range of roughly $85,000 to $94,500, continuing a decline that began in October.
The sell-off reflects a rise in risk-off sentiment among traders. U.S. equities also fell in pre-market trading, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.32% since midnight.
Crypto futures saw $465 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with longs accounting for more than half of the total. This contrasts with the previous two days, when short positions bore the brunt of liquidations.
Despite the pullback, cumulative open interest (OI) across global crypto futures remains above $143 billion — the highest in nearly two months — with moderately positive funding rates suggesting continued bullish positioning. OI in XRP, DOGE, SUI, and ZEC fell 5%-6%, likely reflecting profit-taking after recent rallies. CME Bitcoin futures show OI rising from 100K BTC to 111K BTC since Dec. 30, though overall positioning remains light compared to last year’s 191K BTC.
On Deribit, BTC and ETH put skews are weakening, though outright bullishness has yet to emerge. BTC block flows show mixed signals, with strangles indicating a volatility-driven bullish bias, while call spreads suggest upside price expectations. For ETH, straddles remain the preferred volatility play.
Token performance was led lower by memecoins and privacy coins. Zcash (ZEC $423.54) fell 4.5%, while CoinDesk’s Memecoin Index dropped 1.5% — roughly twice the decline of the CoinDesk 5 index tracking BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA.
A bright spot came from the DeFi sector, where total value locked (TVL) rose 0.17% over the past 24 hours despite overall price weakness, signaling ongoing inflows. CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” indicator sits at 25/100, slightly down from last week’s 27 but well above December’s 14, reflecting cautious optimism.
TRX ($0.2950) was a rare outperformer, remaining in the green since midnight and adding to a 1.2% gain over the past 24 hours.
