Bitcoin extended losses on Monday as derivatives data pointed to growing risk-off sentiment across crypto markets.
BTC slipped below $70,000, down more than 2.8% in 24 hours, though it remains well above recent lows near $60,000. Traders are divided on whether the market is entering a deeper bear phase or approaching a bottom, with some bulls noting slowing declines as a potential sign of exhaustion.
The broader crypto market also weakened. The CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5) fell 3.4%, while Ether underperformed, dropping roughly 5% to $2,037 but holding above the $2,000 level. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index declined 3.7% as traders reduced exposure across major tokens.
Derivatives point to caution
Bitcoin futures open interest fell from $19 billion to $16 billion over the past week, signaling ongoing deleveraging. Funding rates on Bybit (-2.24%) and Binance (-0.5%) turned negative, showing short sellers leading the market.
Options data confirmed the defensive mood: one-week 25-delta skew rose to 20%, call dominance dropped to 48%, and implied volatility entered extreme backwardation, with front-end volatility at 85% versus ~50% for longer-term contracts.
Liquidations totaled $397 million in 24 hours, roughly evenly split between longs and shorts. Bitcoin accounted for $234 million, Ether $74 million, and Solana $14 million. Binance data flagged $68,160 as a key level to watch for further liquidations.
Rainbow token launch struggles
Rainbow’s RNBW token debuted on Ethereum’s Base layer-2 network but fell sharply to $0.025 — a 75% drop from its $0.10 ICO — before rising slightly to $0.031.
Delays in token distribution to early buyers and rewards participants contributed to the selloff. U.S. investors will not have full access until December 2026. Co-founder Mike Demarais cited backend infrastructure strain.
Rainbow, known for its gamified wallet features, raised $18 million in a 2022 Series A led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six. The token’s fully diluted valuation has dropped to roughly $31 million from earlier expectations of $100 million.
