Bitcoin Holds Near $62,500 as Bearish Pressure Intensifies Across Crypto Markets

Bitcoin managed to hold above $62,500 while ether hovered near $1,665, but muted price movement and widening put-option bias indicate that bearish sentiment remains dominant.

The crypto market stayed soft on Wednesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) each slipping less than 0.4% since midnight UTC. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) declined 0.9%, as 18 of its components ended lower.

The absence of a meaningful rebound is increasingly concerning, especially as U.S. equity futures attempted to stabilize after Tuesday’s tech-led selloff.

Still, a handful of altcoins bucked the trend, with Jupiter (JUP) and Monero (XMR) gaining between 2% and 4%, suggesting pockets of investor demand persist despite broader weakness.

Bitcoin now faces a key test at the $60,000 psychological level. A breakdown below it could drag price action back into a range last seen in late 2024, with $52,000 emerging as a major downside support zone.

Derivatives positioning

Activity in derivatives markets has cooled, with total volume dropping 27% to $141 billion over the past 24 hours. Open interest, however, rose 2% to $106 billion, while liquidations totaled $158 million—its lowest level in two weeks.

BTC futures open interest remains steady at roughly 730,000 BTC for the eighth consecutive day, signaling consolidation.

ETH futures show renewed engagement, with open interest rising to 14.3 million ETH—its highest in two weeks, up from a recent low of 13.74 million. This increase came as ETH fell from about $1,780 to $1,650 over two days, a pattern often associated with short positioning into weakness.

Although funding rates remain slightly positive, suggesting some demand for long exposure, negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) indicates sellers are driving price action through aggressive market orders.

SOL futures activity continues to expand, with open interest reaching a record 77.68 million tokens. However, negative funding rates and CVD suggest the buildup is being driven largely by new short positions.

In contrast, ZEC futures are cooling, with open interest falling to 2 million tokens from about 2.55 million last month.

Overall, bearish positioning is dominating across most top-25 tokens, reflected in negative OI-adjusted CVD readings for a second straight day.

Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) eased to 43%, down from nearly 48% earlier in the week. Ether volatility followed a similar pattern.

Options markets on Deribit show rising downside concern, with one-week skew widening to 10.9 volatility points in favor of puts, up from about 7 points previously. One-month skew also expanded.

Block trades on Paradigm included a straddle strategy centered on the $62,000 strike expiring July 3, a setup typically used to position for larger price swings.

Token performance

While Monero (XMR) and Jupiter (JUP) posted gains, several tokens including Ethena (ENA), Pump (PUMP), and Stellar (XLM) declined between 2.2% and 3.5%.

Ethena has now fallen more than 90% from its record high of $0.87 last September, reflecting pressure on yield strategies that rely on sustained bullish conditions and positive funding rates.

Similar weakness has been seen in legacy tokens such as Litecoin (LTC) and Cardano (ADA), which have failed to revisit their 2021 peaks and remain in broader macro downtrends.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) continues to strengthen, approaching its May 2025 high. A stronger dollar is typically a headwind for risk assets like crypto, as it reflects a shift toward safety and liquidity over speculative exposure.

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