Bitcoin stayed just above $62,500 while ether hovered near $1,665, but CoinDesk reported that weak spot action and bearish derivatives positioning kept pressure on the wider crypto market. Options and futures data showed traders leaning toward downside protection and fresh short bets across major tokens.
Bitcoin stayed just above $62,500 while ether hovered near $1,665, but CoinDesk reported that weak spot action and bearish derivatives positioning kept pressure on the wider crypto market. Options and futures data showed traders leaning toward downside protection and fresh short bets across major tokens.
Bitcoin remained under pressure on Wednesday, holding above $62,500 as ether traded near $1,665 and broader crypto markets stayed weak. The CoinDesk 20 Index fell 0.9%, with 18 of its constituents declining, while bitcoin and ether each moved less than 0.4% since midnight UTC.
Bitcoin remained under pressure on Wednesday, holding above $62,500 as ether traded near $1,665 and broader crypto markets stayed weak. The CoinDesk 20 Index fell 0.9%, with 18 of its constituents declining, while bitcoin and ether each moved less than 0.4% since midnight UTC.
The muted reaction mattered because crypto failed to stage a meaningful rebound even as U.S. equity futures began recovering from Tuesday's tech-led selloff. CoinDesk noted that bitcoin now needs to avoid falling back below the psychological $60,000 support level, which could put it into a trading range not seen since late 2024 and bring $52,000 into focus as a downside level.
Derivatives data pointed to a market still controlled by bearish positioning. Trading volume in crypto derivatives fell 27% to $141 billion over the past 24 hours, while open interest rose 2% to $106 billion. Liquidations totaled $158 million, the lowest in two weeks, suggesting fewer forced exits even as positioning became more defensive.
Ether futures open interest climbed to 14.3 million ETH, the highest in two weeks, while spot ether dropped from around $1,780 to $1,650 over two days. Solana futures open interest reached a lifetime high of 77.68 million tokens, but negative funding rates and negative volume-delta measures pointed to fresh short positioning rather than bullish demand.
Options markets also showed rising demand for downside protection. On Deribit, the one-week put-call skew widened to 10.9 volatility points in favor of puts from about 7 points a day earlier, while the one-month skew also expanded. At the same time, bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index cooled to 43% from nearly 48% on Tuesday, with ether showing a similar pattern.
Some altcoins still outperformed, with Jupiter and Monero gaining between 2% and 4%, but several others weakened. Ethena, Pump and Stellar fell between 2.2% and 3.5%, while CoinDesk noted that a strengthening U.S. Dollar Index remained another headwind for risk assets, including altcoins.
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