Bitcoin briefly fell to its lowest level since September 2024 before rebounding toward $59,770, while ether extended losses and another $1 billion in futures positions were wiped out across the market.
The crypto market remains anchored around a key support area, with bitcoin (BTC) showing limited movement since midnight UTC after recovering from Thursday’s drop to its weakest level since September 2024.
BTC was last trading near $59,700 after briefly sliding to $58,100.
Ether (ETH) failed to follow bitcoin’s recovery, slipping another 1% and extending its losing streak to three straight sessions, recently hovering near $1,550.
U.S. equity futures also pointed to softer sentiment, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 1% and S&P 500 futures off 0.4%, as the recent tech-led rally continues to fade.
A rare bright spot was Aave (AAVE), which gained as much as 6.8% since midnight, extending its recent strength after reports that Kraken may be exploring a 15% stake in the DeFi protocol.
Derivatives positioning
Volatility continued to pressure leveraged traders, with another $1 billion in liquidations over the past 24 hours. Long positions bore the brunt of the wipeout, and ETH saw more forced liquidations than BTC over the last 12 hours.
Bitcoin futures open interest climbed for a second session to around 778,000 BTC, up from recent lows near 730,000 BTC. The rise during Thursday’s selloff suggests traders added short positions into weakness, betting on further downside.
Ether futures showed more stability, with open interest holding near 14 million ETH since mid-June, suggesting traders are not aggressively increasing bearish bets. XRP displayed a similar pattern.
Solana open interest has cooled from record highs but remains elevated, signaling ongoing volatility risk.
Across major tokens, OI-adjusted 24-hour cumulative volume delta remains negative, showing persistent selling pressure. The trend reflects stronger market sell execution versus passive buying, with exceptions in BNB, SOL, and TON.
Implied volatility is rising across crypto. Bitcoin’s BVIV climbed to 53%, its highest since early June, while ETH volatility reached 66%. Traditional markets remain steadier, with the VIX at 20% and the MOVE index showing limited stress.
Options markets continue to lean bearish. On Deribit, the one-week BTC skew has risen toward 30%, indicating a strong premium for puts over calls. Block flows included demand for $53,000 puts expiring July 10, along with ether risk reversals.
Token talk
Aave stood out as a strong performer, while Solana added about 2% since midnight to around $68.95 after rebounding from Thursday’s low of $64.05.
AI tokens remained under pressure, with RENDER, NEAR, FET, and TAO each down 1%–1.5%, extending recent weakness.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) slipped 2.6% and is now down 18.5% from its recent peak just 12 days ago.
Ethena (ENA) was again among the weakest, falling another 5% and extending its monthly decline to 34%, as its yield model continues to suffer from negative funding conditions.
