Bitcoin is once again showing signs of weakness, with price action hinting at another potential lower high, while ether continues to trade sideways despite ongoing strength in U.S. equity markets.
BTC hovered around $76,600 on Tuesday, down 0.8% since midnight UTC, after failing to maintain Monday’s brief push to $77,800. The rejection reinforces a broader bearish pattern that has been in place since October, with bitcoin losing roughly 7% over the past two weeks.
The underperformance stands in contrast to traditional markets, where S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures have both advanced more than 0.5%. The divergence suggests that crypto markets are facing asset-specific pressures rather than broader macroeconomic or geopolitical headwinds.
Ether remains under pressure. Trading near $2,098, ETH has dropped more than 10% over the past two weeks and continues to sit within a range established between February and April, showing little momentum for a recovery.
The broader altcoin market is mixed. AI-focused tokens are leading gains, while earlier outperformers such as zcash have weakened, with ZEC falling about 7% since midnight.
Derivatives activity has slowed notably. Total crypto futures volume has declined 10% to $130 billion over the past 24 hours, while open interest remains relatively steady at around $126 billion. Liquidations have fallen 21% to $126 million, indicating a calmer trading environment following the extended U.S. holiday weekend.
Market positioning across altcoins appears selective. Tokens like SHIB, LINK, HBAR, NEAR and TRX have seen increases in open interest, while ZEC, XLM and HYPE have recorded declines, pointing to rotation rather than broad-based inflows.
NEAR continues to outperform. The token surged 58% in the week ending May 24 and has since gained another 14% to trade near $2.82, its highest level since November. The rally is likely driven by a series of network upgrades focused on scalability, privacy, and quantum resilience, along with increased participation in derivatives markets. Open interest has jumped to a record 309 million tokens, up from 182 million just a week earlier.
Strong demand is also reflected in NEAR’s positive cumulative volume delta, suggesting buyers are actively driving price action. Funding rates remain only slightly positive, indicating the rally has not yet reached overheated levels.
Chainlink is also attracting attention, with futures open interest rising to 42.96 million tokens, the highest since early February. Funding rates near 8% annualized point to futures trading at a premium to spot, typically a bullish indicator.
Meanwhile, bitcoin futures activity has cooled, with open interest declining to 711,000 BTC from 793,000 earlier this month. Ether open interest remains elevated, hovering just below record highs near 15 million ETH. Implied volatility for both assets continues to trend lower, reflecting ongoing volatility selling and a lack of urgency in options markets.
Despite subdued conditions, downside hedging remains evident. On Deribit, bitcoin put options with strike prices between $70,000 and $76,000 are among the most actively traded, signaling demand for protection against further price weakness.
In sector performance, AI-related assets are leading gains. CoinDesk’s Computing Select Index, which tracks AI tokens and Chainlink, has risen 1.9% since midnight UTC and 2.7% over the past 24 hours, with tokens such as FET and RENDER posting strong advances.
The DeFi Select Index has also outperformed major cryptocurrencies, gaining 1.3%, suggesting investors are rotating into higher-risk segments while waiting for clearer direction from bitcoin and ether.
Privacy coins have weakened broadly, with monero and dash each declining around 1.5%, following losses in zcash.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index has edged up to 35 out of 100 from last week’s 31, though it remains below its recent high of 50, indicating that a sustained altcoin rally has yet to fully develop
