Crypto prices continued to slide as cascading derivatives liquidations collided with worsening macro conditions, heightening concerns that further losses could follow if bitcoin fails to reclaim critical technical ground.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 7% in the past 24 hours to trade around the $70,000 mark, while ether (ETH) dropped to roughly $2,095, extending a broad downturn across digital assets. Risk sentiment deteriorated sharply, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index sinking to 11 — its lowest level this year — signaling extreme investor caution.
“Bitcoin is trading back in a zone that previously acted as a strong cap on prices throughout much of 2024, which is drawing in selective dip buyers,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. Still, he warned that history offers little reassurance. “A similar sell-off in May 2022 led to a prolonged consolidation phase before the market moved lower again,” he said.
According to Bitget’s chief market analyst, aggressive unwinding of leveraged derivatives positions amplified losses, tightening price ranges and accelerating downside momentum. At the same time, geopolitical risks and uncertainty surrounding global interest-rate policy have reinforced a risk-off environment, weighing on higher-volatility tokens such as XRP.
Pressure from traditional markets added to the unease. Oil prices remained volatile as traders priced in the possibility of escalating U.S.–Iran tensions. A sustained rise in energy prices could reignite inflationary pressures, further complicating the outlook for crypto markets.
Derivatives positioning
Crypto futures markets continued to see capital exit, with cumulative notional open interest sliding to approximately $103 billion. Margin stress triggered more than $800 million in forced liquidations over the past 24 hours, with the total likely to grow after bitcoin briefly slipped below the key $70,000 threshold.
Despite the sharp deleveraging, longer-term sentiment has not fully reset. Ninety-day bitcoin futures remain priced at a premium to spot markets — a condition that historically tends to fade closer to major market bottoms. Open interest rose in a limited group of tokens, including XAUT, LINK, TRX and PEPE, even as broader participation declined.
Perpetual funding rates for several altcoins turned negative, reflecting rising demand for short exposure. Options markets also signaled heightened stress: on Deribit, near-term bitcoin and ether put options traded at premiums exceeding 10 points over calls. Large privately negotiated bitcoin trades continued to favor bearish structures such as put spreads.
Token talk
Altcoins broadly tracked bitcoin lower during Asia and European trading hours. Privacy-focused tokens monero (XMR) and zcash (ZEC) each slid by as much as 7%.
XRP underperformed the broader market, falling more than 10% overnight amid roughly $30 million in liquidations. The sell-off intensified around 09:00 UTC, when prices dropped sharply from $1.44 to $1.35.
Derivatives exchange token MYX stood out as a rare outperformer, gaining 4% on the day and extending its year-to-date advance to 56%.
The bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index dropped 8.34% over the past 24 hours, underperforming the altcoin-focused CoinDesk 80 (CD80), which declined 5.92%. Several altcoins are now displaying entrenched bearish structures — marked by successive lower highs and lower lows — patterns last seen during the 2022 crypto downturn.
