Bitcoin is once again at risk of printing a lower high, while ether remains locked in a multi-month consolidation, even as U.S. equity futures continue to advance.
BTC traded around $76,600 on Tuesday, slipping 0.8% since midnight UTC after failing to hold Monday’s rebound to $77,800. The latest move reinforces a broader bearish pattern in place since October, with the asset down roughly 7% over the past two weeks.
The weakness stands in contrast to traditional markets. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are both up more than 0.5%, suggesting crypto’s recent softness is being driven by internal dynamics rather than macroeconomic or geopolitical stress.
Ether is lagging further behind. At roughly $2,098, ETH has dropped over 10% in the last two weeks and continues to trade within a range established between February and April, showing little sign of a breakout.
Altcoins present a mixed picture. AI-linked tokens are leading gains, while previously strong performers such as zcash have come under pressure, with ZEC falling around 7% since midnight.
Derivatives activity has slowed noticeably. Total crypto futures volume has declined 10% to $130 billion over the past 24 hours, while open interest remains steady near $126 billion. Liquidations have dropped 21% to $126 million, pointing to subdued market conditions following the extended U.S. holiday weekend.
Positioning across altcoins appears increasingly selective. Tokens including SHIB, LINK, HBAR, NEAR and TRX have seen rising open interest, while ZEC, XLM and HYPE have experienced declines, signaling rotation rather than broad participation.
NEAR continues to outperform. The token surged 58% in the week ending May 24 and has since added another 14% to trade near $2.82, its highest level since November. The rally appears driven by a series of network upgrades focused on scaling, privacy, and quantum resilience, alongside a sharp increase in derivatives participation. Open interest has jumped to a record 309 million tokens from 182 million a week earlier.
Momentum remains supported by strong buying pressure, as reflected in NEAR’s positive cumulative volume delta. Funding rates remain only slightly positive, indicating the rally is not yet overheated and could have further room to run.
Chainlink is also seeing renewed interest, with futures open interest climbing to 42.96 million tokens — the highest since early February. Funding rates near 8% annualized suggest futures are trading at a premium to spot, typically a bullish signal.
Meanwhile, bitcoin futures activity has cooled, with open interest falling to 711,000 BTC from 793,000 earlier this month. Ether open interest remains elevated near record highs just below 15 million ETH. Implied volatility for both assets continues to decline, pointing to ongoing volatility selling and a lack of urgency in options markets.
Still, downside hedging remains evident. On Deribit, bitcoin put options with strike prices between $70,000 and $76,000 are among the most actively traded contracts, highlighting demand for protection against further price declines.
Sector-wise, AI-related assets are leading performance. CoinDesk’s Computing Select Index, which tracks AI tokens and Chainlink, rose 1.9% since midnight UTC and 2.7% over the past 24 hours, with tokens like FET and RENDER posting notable gains.
The DeFi Select Index also outperformed major cryptocurrencies, rising 1.3%, suggesting traders are rotating into higher-risk segments while waiting for clearer direction in bitcoin and ether.
Privacy coins weakened broadly, with monero and dash each falling about 1.5%, extending losses seen in zcash.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index has edged up to 35 out of 100 from last week’s 31, but remains below its recent peak of 50, indicating that a sustained altcoin rally has yet to take hold.
