Crypto markets sank to their lowest levels in more than two weeks, with bitcoin slipping under $67,000 and ether nearing the $2,000 level, as a combination of macro headwinds and heavy liquidations weighed on sentiment.
Bitcoin changed hands around $66,500, while ether held just above $2,000. The broader market followed lower, with the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) down 2.2% since midnight UTC, marking its weakest level since March 9.
The decline came in tandem with weakness in traditional markets. Nasdaq 100 futures fell to roughly 23,760, leaving the index about 10% below its January peak and underscoring a broader risk-off environment.
Oil prices remain a central concern. Crude continues to trade above $100 per barrel amid ongoing tensions linked to the Iran conflict, fueling worries about persistent inflation and tighter financial conditions.
Altcoins underperformed, highlighting fragile market conditions. ETHFI dropped 6%, while WLD, WIF, SEI and FET recorded losses ranging from 3.6% to 4.7%.
Derivatives positioning
Leverage intensified the sell-off. Nearly $300 million in long positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, compared with roughly $50 million in shorts. This marks the fifth major long wipeout in 10 days, indicating traders had been positioned for a rally that has yet to materialize.
XRP fell more than 2.5% even as its futures open interest climbed 2% to 1.95 billion tokens, the highest level since early February. The divergence points to growing short interest, supported by negative cumulative volume delta and funding rates below zero.
Similar bearish positioning trends were seen across bitcoin, solana, dogecoin and BNB futures.
SHIB stood out with the most negative open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta among major tokens, signaling aggressive derisking. In contrast, Canton Network’s CC token showed relative strength, with rising open interest and positive funding rates indicating demand for bullish exposure.
Volatility metrics suggest traders are not yet in panic mode. Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indices, BVIV and EVIV, continued to decline despite falling prices.
On Deribit, more than $15 billion in bitcoin options expired Friday, removing the previously cited $75,000 “pinning” level and potentially opening the path for further downside as macro conditions deteriorate.
Options markets also reflect a defensive stance, with bitcoin and ether puts trading at a 6–8 volatility premium to calls across maturities, signaling ongoing demand for downside protection.
Token trends
The broader altcoin market struggled to maintain support levels in a low-liquidity environment. The CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) led declines, falling 2.3%, while the broader CD20 index dropped 1.2%.
ONDO was a rare outperformer, rising after Ondo Finance announced plans to tokenize five Franklin Templeton ETFs on its blockchain. The token gained more than 8% over the past 24 hours before trimming some of those gains.
Despite the sell-off, the average relative strength index (RSI) across crypto assets remains neutral, suggesting the market may still have room to extend losses in the near term.
