Bitcoin briefly fell to its lowest level since September 2024 before bouncing back toward $59,770, while ether continued to weaken and another $1 billion in futures positions were liquidated across the market.
The crypto market is holding a key support zone, with bitcoin (BTC) showing little movement since midnight UTC after recovering from a Thursday drop that took it to its weakest level since September 2024.
BTC was recently trading near $59,700 after dipping as low as $58,100.
Ether (ETH) failed to follow bitcoin’s recovery, slipping another 1% and extending its losing streak to three consecutive sessions, recently hovering around $1,550.
U.S. equity futures also signaled softness heading into Friday, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 1% and S&P 500 futures off 0.4%, as the recent tech-driven rally continues to unwind.
One exception to the bearish tone was Aave (AAVE), which surged as much as 6.8% since midnight, extending its weekly gains after reports that Kraken may be exploring a 15% stake in the DeFi protocol.
Derivatives positioning
Volatility continues to pressure leveraged futures markets, with another $1 billion in positions wiped out over the past 24 hours. Once again, longs accounted for most of the liquidations, and ETH saw more forced closures than BTC over the last 12 hours.
Bitcoin futures open interest rose for a second straight session to about 778,000 BTC, up sharply from recent lows near 730,000 BTC. The increase during Thursday’s selloff suggests traders were adding short exposure into weakness, positioning for further downside.
Ether futures paint a steadier picture, with open interest holding around 14 million ETH since mid-June. This stability suggests traders are not aggressively piling into shorts, a relatively constructive signal. XRP shows a similar pattern.
Solana’s open interest has eased from record highs but remains elevated, indicating continued potential for volatility.
Across most major tokens, OI-adjusted 24-hour cumulative volume delta remains negative, showing sustained bearish dominance. The trend, which began earlier in the week, reflects heavier use of market sells versus passive buying, with exceptions in BNB, SOL, and TON.
Implied volatility is also rising. Bitcoin’s BVIV jumped to 53%, its highest since early June, while ETH’s implied volatility climbed to 66%. By contrast, traditional market gauges remain calmer, with the VIX rising to 20% but still within recent ranges, and the MOVE index showing similar stability.
Options markets are flashing clearer downside concern. On Deribit, the one-week BTC skew has climbed toward 30%, indicating a strong premium for puts over calls, while longer-dated skews also lean bearish. Large block flows included demand for $53,000 puts expiring July 10 and ether risk reversals.
Token talk
Aave stood out as a rare outperformer in the altcoin market, while Solana added about 2% since midnight, rebounding to around $68.95 after briefly dropping to $64.05 on Thursday.
AI-linked tokens continued to weaken, with RENDER, NEAR, FET, and TAO each falling 1%–1.5%, extending recent declines.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) slipped 2.6% and is now down 18.5% from its record high just 12 days ago.
Ethena (ENA) remained among the weakest performers, falling another 5% on Friday and extending its monthly decline to 34%. The weakness reflects broader market pressure, compounded by its reliance on positive funding rates, which have recently turned negative.
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