Crypto markets dropped to their lowest levels in over two weeks, with bitcoin falling below $67,000 and ether nearing the $2,000 threshold, as a mix of macro pressure and derivatives-driven selling weighed on sentiment.
Bitcoin traded around $66,500, while ether hovered 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 move came alongside a pullback in traditional markets. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped to roughly 23,760, now about 10% below their January highs, reflecting a broader shift toward risk aversion.
Macro conditions remain the key driver. Oil prices continue to hold above $100 per barrel amid ongoing tensions tied to the Iran conflict, fueling concerns about persistent inflation and tighter financial conditions.
Altcoins saw sharper declines, underscoring the fragility of the market. ETHFI dropped 6%, while tokens such as WLD, WIF, SEI and FET posted losses ranging between 3.6% and 4.7%.
Derivatives positioning
Leverage continues to amplify downside moves. Nearly $300 million in long positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, compared with around $50 million in shorts. This marks the fifth time in 10 days that bullish positions have been heavily flushed, suggesting traders had been positioned for a rally that has yet to materialize.
XRP declined more than 2.5% even as its futures open interest rose 2% to 1.95 billion tokens, the highest level since early February. The combination points to growing short interest, reinforced by negative cumulative volume delta and funding rates below zero.
Similar bearish positioning trends were evident across futures tied to bitcoin, solana, dogecoin and BNB.
Among major tokens, SHIB showed the most aggressive derisking, with the largest negative open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta. In contrast, Canton Network’s CC token stood out with rising open interest and positive funding rates, indicating demand for bullish exposure.
Volatility indicators remain relatively subdued. Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indices, BVIV and EVIV, continued to decline despite falling prices, suggesting traders are not yet expecting a sharp spike in turbulence.
More than $15 billion in bitcoin options expired on Deribit on Friday, removing the previously cited $75,000 “pinning” level and potentially opening the path for further downside as macro conditions worsen.
Options markets also reflect a defensive bias. Put options for bitcoin and ether are trading at a 6–8 volatility premium to calls across maturities, signaling sustained demand for downside protection.
Token trends
The altcoin market once again showed signs of weakness, struggling to hold key support levels in a low-liquidity environment. The CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) was the worst performer, down 2.3%, while the broader CD20 index slipped 1.2%.
ONDO was a notable outlier, rising after Ondo Finance announced plans to tokenize five Franklin Templeton ETFs and bring them onto its blockchain. The token gained over 8% in the past 24 hours, though it trimmed some of those gains later in the session.
Despite the broader sell-off, the average relative strength index (RSI) across crypto assets remains neutral, indicating there may still be room for further downside in the near term.
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