Bitcoin pulled back from its highest level in a month as oil prices surged above $85 per barrel, reviving inflation fears and encouraging investors to favor safer assets such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin over riskier altcoins.
The broader crypto market traded lower on Wednesday, with Bitcoin down about 0.9% from the start of the UTC session at around $65,900. Ether also declined, slipping 0.5% to approximately $1,920.
The move followed Bitcoin’s climb to a one-month peak on Tuesday, with traders taking some profits after the recent rally.
A key driver behind the market shift was the jump in WTI crude prices. The U.S. oil benchmark moved above $85 per barrel for the first time since June 12 as tensions involving Iran intensified, renewing concerns over inflation and creating pressure across risk markets.
Equity futures also weakened, with Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures declining. Meanwhile, investors moved toward defensive assets, pushing gold 0.95% higher to $4,118 and silver up 1.2% as demand for protection increased.
The cautious mood extended into crypto markets, where Bitcoin’s dominance rose to 59%. Investors appeared to rotate away from altcoins and stablecoins, favoring BTC as the market’s relative safe haven.
Derivatives Market Developments
Trading activity slows:
Crypto trading volume fell 12% over the previous 24 hours to $150 billion, while open interest remained mostly unchanged at around $116 billion. With liquidations totaling only about $165 million, the market appears to be entering a short-term pause.
Bullish positioning weakens:
The 24-hour long/short ratio moved closer to balance at 50.59% long versus 49.41% short. Although every futures contract has both a buyer and seller, the ratio measures the number of accounts holding net-long or net-short positions. The narrowing difference suggests bullish conviction has weakened compared with the previous session.
HYPE sees rising short pressure:
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token fell more than 6% over 24 hours, ranking among the weakest major crypto assets. Futures open interest increased to 42.8 million HYPE, its highest level since June 4, while negative perpetual funding rates and declining cumulative volume delta (CVD) data pointed to growing bearish positioning.
XLM remains under pressure:
Stellar’s XLM futures open interest climbed for a third consecutive day to 1 billion tokens. Negative CVD readings indicate sellers are driving market activity, contributing to the token’s inability to hold above the $0.19 level.
BTC and ETH positions stay stable:
Open interest for Bitcoin and Ether remained relatively unchanged over the past day, suggesting traders have made few major adjustments despite prices retreating from Tuesday’s highs.
Broad selling dominates:
Most major cryptocurrencies, apart from XMR, XAUT, and HBAR, showed negative 24-hour CVD readings, signaling that sellers currently have greater influence than buyers across much of the market.
Volatility expectations increase:
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) climbed to 40% from 37.5%, indicating traders are paying more for downside protection and preparing for potentially larger price movements. Ether’s volatility index also showed signs of strengthening.
Options market remains optimistic:
Bitcoin call options continued to lead trading activity on Deribit, with significant volume concentrated around the $70,000 and $72,000 strike prices. The demand suggests some traders still expect upside beyond the current pullback. Ether options also showed bullish interest, with the $3,000 strike becoming the most actively traded contract.
Token Performance
Dash (DASH) was the weakest performer among major tokens on Wednesday, dropping 4.1% to $33.44. Hyperliquid’s HYPE followed with a 3.42% decline to $58.79 as it continued correcting from recent highs.
Midnight (NIGHT) posted the strongest performance over the past 24 hours, rising 19% after recovering from Monday’s losses. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson praised the project on X, describing it as an “incredible ecosystem” with notable technology.
Ether.fi (ETHFI) and Ethena (ENA) moved higher despite broader market weakness, gaining 2.63% and 1.27%, respectively, as DeFi tokens continued to show relative strength.
Ondo (ONDO) remained one of the strongest weekly performers, climbing 26% over seven days to around $0.40 as interest in tokenized real-world assets continued attracting attention despite a challenging macro environment.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index stood at 50/100, slightly below last week’s peak, indicating that investors have shifted attention back toward Bitcoin amid renewed market caution.
