Here’s another rewritten version:
Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market declined after President Donald Trump said the Iran ceasefire had ended, following renewed airstrikes between the two countries.
Digital assets came under pressure on Wednesday as escalating geopolitical risks triggered a wave of risk aversion among investors. The CoinDesk 20 Index dropped 2.9% from the start of the UTC session, with almost all tracked cryptocurrencies moving lower.
Trump told NATO leaders that the ceasefire agreement with Iran was effectively finished and criticized further negotiations, calling them unproductive. However, reports indicated that diplomatic discussions had not fully stopped.
The U.S. Central Command said American forces carried out strikes against more than 60 small vessels operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to prevent disruptions to international shipping. Iran responded by launching attacks on targets in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The renewed tensions boosted demand for the U.S. dollar as markets assessed the potential inflation impact. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies, both fell more than 2%.
The decline was more severe across smaller altcoins, with tokens including JUP, ETHFI, and PUMP losing more than 5% as lower liquidity amplified selling pressure.
U.S. equity markets also weakened, with Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures dropping as much as 1.5%.
Futures market signals
Despite Bitcoin’s pullback toward $62,000, the asset remains up roughly 6% this month. Derivatives data showed a relatively balanced market, with traders not significantly increasing short positions against Bitcoin’s recent recovery. Futures open interest declined to about 730,000 BTC from more than 740,000 BTC a day earlier.
Ether showed a weaker setup, with futures open interest staying near 13.95 million ETH even as the price decline caused around $90 million in liquidations. Bitcoin futures liquidations exceeded $100 million over the same period.
Canton Network’s CC token continued to slide, reaching its lowest level since January while futures open interest climbed to a two-week high. The combination of falling prices, increasing open interest, and deeply negative funding rates near -20% indicates traders may be positioning for additional downside.
Across major cryptocurrencies, bearish momentum has strengthened, reflected by negative open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) readings for Bitcoin and Ether. The metric suggests sellers are using aggressive market orders rather than waiting for lower-priced limit bids.
Options markets also showed increased demand for downside protection. Bitcoin’s BVIV and Ether’s EVIV 30-day implied volatility indexes both increased for the second consecutive session.
Deribit data showed one-week options skew shifting further toward puts, rising to nearly 20% from 16% previously. The move suggests traders are paying more to hedge against potential declines in BTC and ETH.
However, Bitcoin call options at the $80,000 strike recorded the highest trading volume over the last 24 hours, showing that some market participants still expect a recovery.
Altcoin weakness continues
Altcoins experienced the largest wave of liquidations, with CoinGlass data showing roughly $350 million of the $450 million total coming from altcoin positions.
Solana (SOL) erased its recent gains, falling back to around $77 after reaching close to $84 earlier in the week.
MORPHO was among the few tokens to outperform, rising about 4% as its DeFi platform’s total value locked reached a record 4 million ETH, according to DefiLlama.
Despite the broader market decline, some analysts pointed to improving conditions for select altcoins as several tokens returned to oversold levels. The average RSI dropped to 40 from 47 on Tuesday, suggesting some assets may be nearing zones where buyers could attempt a recovery.
