Here’s another polished rewrite with a tighter newsroom tone:
Bitcoin fell 2.5% to around $62,300, while ether dropped more than 4%, as roughly $717 million in liquidations intensified losses across altcoins.
The crypto market declined on Tuesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading near $62,300 after slipping 2.5% since midnight UTC. Ether (ETH) fell more than 4% to about $1,650, extending losses across major tokens.
The downturn followed weakness in technology stocks, with Nasdaq 100 futures down roughly 2.5% since midnight, signaling continued pressure on risk assets.
TickMill market strategist Patrick Munnelly said tech stocks are facing headwinds from profit-taking and concerns over rising bond yields.
Altcoins underperformed, with tokens such as Ethena (ENA) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) falling 5%–6%, while $717 million in liquidations amplified downside moves across the market.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) strengthened to 101.15, its highest level since May 2025.
Derivatives signal rising bearish positioning
Open interest in SpaceX perpetual futures on exchanges including Hyperliquid and Binance rose about 10% even as prices dropped roughly 15%, indicating increased short positioning and reinforcing the downtrend. The contracts have become the sixth-largest globally, ahead of several major crypto assets including ZEC.
XRP futures open interest climbed to 2.38 billion tokens, near eight-month highs, despite a weekly decline of nearly 2%. However, negative OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) for a second straight day suggests aggressive selling dominated by market shorts.
Bitcoin futures open interest fell further to 720,000 BTC from 742,000 BTC last week, down from a recent peak near 800,000 BTC. Ether futures OI recovered slightly to 14.13 million ETH but remains below late-May highs of 15.98 million ETH.
Across most top-25 tokens, negative CVD readings indicate broad seller dominance.
Volatility gauges also moved higher, with Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index rising from around 40%, while ether’s volatility index followed a similar trend—typically a sign of stress and bearish momentum.
In options markets, positioning remains skewed toward long calls ahead of Friday’s quarterly expiry, though many are now underwater after the recent selloff. Put options are increasingly in profit, reflecting rising demand for downside protection.
Put-call skews continue to show a preference for hedging, underscoring cautious sentiment.
Token-specific moves
Privacy coins outperformed, with Dash (DASH) down just 0.2% and Monero (XMR) slipping 0.7%.
Zcash (ZEC) fell 4.2%, tracking broader altcoin weakness after earlier AI-related concerns.
AI-linked tokens including Fetch.ai (FET), Render (RENDER), and Bittensor (TAO) declined 3%–5% as tech-sector sentiment spilled into crypto.
On the positive side, the average crypto RSI sits near 39, indicating oversold conditions that could allow for a short-term rebound or relief rally.
