Bitcoin remained steady around $64,000 despite a series of macro shocks, including the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance, Iranian missile strikes, and an 8% jump in oil prices that sent the Dow lower by 2.2% and pushed the Nasdaq to its weakest level in three months.
Crypto markets showed surprising strength on Thursday, with bitcoin trading nearly flat around $63,915 and ether down only 0.25% since the start of the UTC day, even as global risk assets faced pressure following Wednesday’s session.
The muted price action, however, hid significant volatility around the Fed’s interest rate decision. Rapid price swings in both directions forced leveraged futures traders to close positions, leading to widespread liquidations.
The Fed kept its benchmark rate unchanged, but three policymakers supported a rate increase, highlighting continued concerns over inflation and keeping pressure on risk assets. Higher interest rates typically make speculative investments less attractive by tightening financial conditions.
Data from CoinGlass showed that roughly $286 million in crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours. Long positions accounted for about $186 million of the losses, while short positions represented approximately $100 million, reflecting a market that moved sharply higher and lower before stabilizing.
Bitcoin liquidations affected both sides of the market. Futures data showed that traders holding long and short positions suffered nearly equal losses, indicating that the price swings caught both bulls and bears off guard.
Following the Fed announcement, Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles targeting U.S. military sites, prompting President Donald Trump to threaten a strong response.
Oil prices surged after the escalation, reversing their earlier declines from Monday, while U.S. equities sold off. However, futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq later recovered into slightly positive territory.
Derivatives Market Trends
Futures positioning turns slightly bearish:
Crypto futures data showed a modest shift toward bearish sentiment, with short taker volume accounting for 51% of activity, according to CoinGlass. Market participation remained subdued, with open interest and trading volume largely unchanged from the previous session.
Uniswap gains among major tokens:
UNI was one of the strongest performers among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. However, futures open interest declined to 65.8 million tokens, suggesting traders were reducing exposure. The token’s negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta indicated that aggressive sellers were driving much of the futures activity.
Bitcoin leverage remains limited:
Bitcoin open interest stayed close to 750,000 BTC, a level maintained since early June, suggesting that traders have not significantly increased leveraged exposure during the recovery. Ether open interest also declined below 14 million ETH after recently reaching 14.53 million ETH, showing weaker leverage demand despite ether’s stronger monthly performance compared with bitcoin.
Altcoins remain under bearish pressure:
Most of the 25 largest cryptocurrencies, excluding BTC, ADA, TRX, CRO, and ZEC, recorded negative open-interest-adjusted CVD readings over the last 24 hours. The data suggests sellers continue to dominate activity across much of the altcoin market.
Bitcoin volatility approaches key levels:
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, dropped below 38%, nearing levels that have historically acted as support. However, volatility often returns toward its average, meaning a sharp rebound remains possible.
Options traders maintain bullish exposure:
Deribit data showed strong demand for bitcoin call options at the $70,000 and $75,000 strike levels, which ranked among the most active contracts over the past day. Ether options showed a similar pattern, with the five most traded contracts all being calls, indicating traders are positioning for potential upside.
Token Market Highlights
Injective (INJ) led gains over the past 24 hours, climbing 6.95% as DeFi tokens outperformed. Uniswap (UNI) advanced 4.46%, while FET recovered 3.28% after a challenging week.
Zcash (ZEC) extended its recent rally, gaining 1.54% since midnight UTC to $474 and continuing to outperform other privacy-focused assets. Monero (XMR) increased 0.4%.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) slipped 0.47% to $53.64, extending its decline from recent highs and bringing its overall retreat to roughly 30% from its peak.
Lighter (LIT) fell 4.22% over 24 hours, though it remained slightly higher since midnight, suggesting selling pressure may be easing after a correction that erased nearly one-quarter of its July gains.
Jupiter (JUP) declined 1.48% since midnight after a brief rebound on Wednesday. Daily trading volume continued to weaken, falling to about $23 million after frequently surpassing $50 million earlier this year.
