Crypto markets deepened losses as heavy derivatives liquidations combined with macroeconomic headwinds, leaving traders wary of further downside should bitcoin fail to hold key technical support.
Bitcoin (BTC) slid more than 7% over the past 24 hours to around $69,978, while ether (ETH) fell a similar amount to roughly $2,095, as bearish sentiment tightened its grip across digital assets.
Market anxiety intensified as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index dropped to 11, its lowest reading this year, signaling extreme fear among investors.
“Bitcoin has returned to an area that served as strong resistance between March and October 2024, which explains the renewed interest from bargain hunters,” Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said in an email to CoinDesk. However, he cautioned that historical parallels offer little comfort. “During a similar phase of the market cycle in May 2022, an equally aggressive sell-off was followed by a month of consolidation before prices fell further.”
Derivatives-driven selling amplified the move lower, according to Bitget’s chief market analyst, as leveraged positioning compressed price action across major tokens. Broader macro pressures — including geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around interest rates — have reinforced a risk-off environment, curbing demand for higher-beta assets such as XRP.
Traditional markets added to the pressure, with oil prices remaining volatile amid concerns over a potential escalation in U.S.–Iran tensions. A sustained rise in crude could fuel global inflation, further undermining the outlook for crypto bulls.
Derivatives positioning
Crypto futures markets continued to see capital exit, with cumulative notional open interest falling to roughly $103 billion as margin shortages forced liquidations. Centralized exchanges liquidated more than $800 million in leveraged positions over the past 24 hours, a figure that could rise further after bitcoin slipped below the critical $70,000 level.
Despite the sell-off, 90-day bitcoin futures are still trading at a premium to spot prices — a condition that historically tends to disappear near market bottoms. Open interest rose in a handful of tokens, including XAUT, LINK, TRX and PEPE, even as broader positioning declined.
Perpetual funding rates for several altcoins flipped negative, signaling growing demand for bearish exposure, a pattern typical of sustained downtrends. Options markets echoed the caution: on Deribit, short-dated bitcoin and ether put options traded at premiums exceeding 10 points over calls, reflecting heightened downside protection demand. Bitcoin block flows remained dominated by bearish structures such as put spreads.
Token talk
Altcoins largely tracked bitcoin’s decline during Asia and European trading hours. Privacy-focused tokens monero (XMR) and zcash (ZEC) both fell as much as 7%.
XRP underperformed, sliding more than 10% overnight amid roughly $30 million in liquidations. The sharp move accelerated around 09:00 UTC, when prices dropped from $1.44 to $1.35.
One notable exception was derivatives exchange token MYX, which gained 4% over the past 24 hours, extending its year-to-date rally to 56%.
The bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index fell 8.34%, underperforming the altcoin-focused CoinDesk 80 (CD80), which declined 5.92%. Several altcoins are now displaying pronounced downtrend structures — marked by lower highs and lower lows — not seen since the 2022 bear market.
