Bitcoin’s early-week rally fizzled as ETF outflows, derivatives deleveraging, and weak altcoin reactions weighed on the broader crypto market. During European trading, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped to $91,200, down from a weekly high of $94,200 on Wednesday.
The decline was largely isolated to crypto. U.S. equities remained flat in pre-market trading, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.15%, highlighting the localized nature of the sell-off.
The downturn is being driven by record withdrawals from BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, which saw an additional $113 million exit on Thursday, as bulls struggled to regain control. The Fear & Greed Index remains depressed at 25/100, lingering below neutral for over a month.
Derivatives positioning
BTC futures show sustained caution, with aggressive deleveraging. Open interest (OI) has fallen to $21 billion from $25 billion a month ago, indicating reduced leverage and risk exposure. Market metrics remain subdued, with the three-month annualized basis at 4%-5% and funding rates stable at 5%-6%.
BTC options continue to exhibit a bullish tilt despite falling volatility. Short-term implied volatility has shifted from backwardation to contango, suggesting smaller near-term price swings. Call options dominate, with 57% of 24-hour volume in calls, while the one-week 25-delta skew rose to 8%, reflecting a premium on short-term upside exposure.
Recent BTC volatility triggered $280 million in liquidations over 24 hours, including $200 million in longs, with ETH ($88 million) and BTC ($85 million) leading nominal liquidations.
Altcoin performance
The BTC/USDT liquidation heatmap on Binance shows heavy long liquidations around $90,600, a key level for traders.
Altcoins broadly fell, with TAO, HYPE, and NEAR down over 6.5%. Ethereum (ETH) retraced 2.62% from its daily high after the Fusaka upgrade, indicating muted responses to anticipated bullish catalysts.
The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index mirrored ETH’s decline, while CDMEME, the memecoin index, fell 5.8%. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season indicator remains at 21/100, signaling continued preference for Bitcoin and stablecoins.
Notable exceptions included Zcash (ZEC) at $339.73, up 4.7% after entering oversold territory on the RSI, and TRX, up 1.8%, showing strength across daily, weekly, and monthly charts despite broader weakness.
