A weakening macro backdrop and thin order books drove major crypto assets to fresh multimonth lows over the weekend, cementing a broader downtrend across the market.
Bitcoin and ether extended their declines after a volatile weekend sell-off dragged BTC to $93,400 and ETH to $3,050. Both remain in negative territory as the market continues to form a clear sequence of lower highs and lower lows across multiple timeframes.
A move toward $92,840 in bitcoin could trigger roughly $62 million in liquidations, potentially accelerating a drop toward the next major support near $87,500 — a level last tested in March.
The downturn follows a shift in expectations around the Federal Reserve’s rate path. Traders now assign a 50% probability to a December rate cut, reducing risk appetite across markets. Lower rates typically benefit assets like BTC and ETH by reducing the relative attractiveness of holding dollars.
Derivatives Signals Point to Ongoing Risk Reduction
Open interest in futures tied to top assets, including BTC and ETH, continued to fall over the past 24 hours, reinforcing signs of capital leaving the market. ZEC and LTC futures OI posted deeper declines of more than 6% and 10%, respectively. Only XRP and ADA saw small upticks, with open interest rising just over 1%.
The BTC options market on Deribit remains skewed toward puts, with front-end implied volatility above 50% annualized. ETH options show a similar tilt.
Structured trades dominated: BTC flows were led by iron condors and strangles, while ETH block activity was driven mainly by call calendar spreads, which represented more than half of the total.
Altcoin Weakness Persists as Liquidity Stays Thin
Altcoins remained under pressure, with only limited rebounds after Friday’s heavy drop extended into the weekend. Most major tokens are still down more than 10% over the past week.
Low liquidity amplified last week’s moves. Solana sank to a five-month low of $135, while ether briefly traded just above $3,000, giving up all gains accumulated since July.
Even high-flying privacy tokens have cooled. Zcash, which surged from $41 to $670 over recent months, has eased as broader market stress intensified.
Market sentiment remains fragile. The Fear and Greed Index sits at 17/100 — the lowest reading since April and firmly in “extreme fear.” CoinGlass’s average RSI stands at 43.52, indicating the market has not yet reached oversold conditions despite the broad decline
