Bitcoin Faces Selling Pressure as Network Activity Weakens
Bitcoin (BTC $109,706) rebounded modestly from early Asian-session lows near $108,760 to surpass $110,000, but analysts warn the recovery may be fragile. On-chain metrics indicate weak network engagement, suggesting limited underlying support.
“RSI is nearing oversold, and MACD remains bearish,” said Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN. “Spot CVD at –$199 million shows sellers are in control, while Daily Active Addresses fell to 692K, signaling declining participation.”
The broader market mirrors this weakness, with the CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 80 indices down 2% and 1.7% over 24 hours.
Derivatives Activity and Liquidations
Leverage-driven traders were hit hard, with $940 million in futures liquidations in the past 24 hours, including $800 million in long positions. Ether accounted for $320 million of these liquidations. BTC open interest remains elevated above 740K BTC, while ETH OI pulled back slightly to 14 million from 14.6 million. SOL, XRP, DOGE, ADA, and LINK also saw OI declines, reflecting net capital outflows.
Funding rates remain positive across most major tokens, excluding SHIB, ADA, and SOL. CME BTC futures OI fell to 137.3K from 145.2K, indicating muted institutional participation, while options OI continues to climb. Deribit’s upcoming multibillion-dollar expiry is skewed toward BTC puts, signaling bearish sentiment, while ETH expiry appears more balanced. OTC flows at Paradigm include BTC put buying and ETH calls and risk reversals.
NFT Market Weakness
NFT blue-chip collections faced sharp weekly losses as ETH retraced from record highs:
- Pudgy Penguins: –17% to 10.32 ETH
- BAYC: –14.7% to 9.59 ETH
- Doodles: –18.9% to 0.73 ETH
- Moonbirds: –10.5%
- Lil Pudgys: –14.6%
- CryptoPunks: –1.35%, showing defensive resilience
Trading volumes stayed high despite declining floors. Pudgy Penguins led with 2,112 ETH ($9.36M), followed by Moonbirds (1,979 ETH), CryptoPunks (1,879 ETH), and BAYC (809 ETH). NFT market capitalization fell nearly 5% to $7.7 billion from $9.3 billion on Aug. 13, highlighting the speed at which capital exits weaker collections. CryptoPunks’ stability reinforces its role as a defensive, collateral-grade asset, while newer projects remain high-beta ETH proxies.
