Today in Crypto: Caution Builds as Traders Eye Jobs Report, Options Expiry

Bitcoin Range-Bound as Derivatives Lean Bearish; Trump-Branded WLFI Token Plunges

Bitcoin (BTC $109,574.46) edged lower Thursday, slipping 0.7% over 24 hours and another 0.9% after midnight UTC. Despite the pullback, prices remain locked in the same range seen since late August.

The broader market mirrored the move. The CoinDesk 20 Index dropped 1.3% since midnight, with nearly every major token in the red. XRP (XRP $2.8136) was the sole gainer, up less than 0.1%.

Derivatives Signal Downside Risk
Bearish sentiment is increasingly visible in the options and perpetual futures markets. Funding rates on perpetuals have eased, while demand for put options has outpaced calls. Deribit highlighted open interest clustering between the $105,000–$110,000 strikes, a sign that traders are prioritizing downside protection. More than $4.5 billion in bitcoin options expire Friday, coinciding with the U.S. August jobs report.

Open interest in bitcoin perpetual futures has cooled from nearly $33 billion to about $30 billion across major venues. Meanwhile, the three-month annualized basis has compressed to 5%–6% on Binance, OKX, and Deribit, leaving carry trades barely profitable.

Options flows are sending mixed signals: the implied volatility curve suggests expectations for higher long-term swings, but the 25-delta skew remains flat to negative, showing a near-term preference for puts. Interestingly, calls made up 63% of 24-hour volume, reflecting short-term speculative appetite.

Funding remains broadly stable at 4%–6% annualized, with Hyperliquid the lone exchange above 6%. According to CoinGlass, $225 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, evenly split between longs and shorts. BTC accounted for $46 million, ETH $65 million, and other tokens $19 million. Binance’s liquidation heatmap points to $110,250 as a key downside trigger.

WLFI Token Crashes Post-Debut
Away from BTC, Trump-linked DeFi token Word Liberty Financial (WLFI) sank 21% to a record low of $0.174 on Thursday, just days after its launch. The sharp drop follows profit-taking from early buyers, many of whom are still in the green from the token sale.

One trader reportedly turned $15 million into $250 million in gains, while another lost $2.2 million on WLFI futures. Despite its association with Donald Trump, the token has shown little innovation compared to other DeFi projects, leading many holders to exit as enthusiasm fades.

Community frustration is mounting. “WLFI team, stop sleeping and start taking action. The community is already angry, at least don’t lose the last remaining investors,” one holder wrote on X.

The selloff recalls January’s TRUMP memecoin, which collapsed 89% after launch. WLFI’s team attempted to reassure investors by pledging that treasury tokens would be governed by community votes rather than sold on the market, but prices continued to tumble afterward.