Bitcoin is trading within a narrow range between $64,000 and $66,800 after recovering 13% from July lows, with broader markets providing limited signals. Meanwhile, WLFI emerged as the day’s biggest mover, gaining 12%.
The cryptocurrency market remained in consolidation mode on Thursday, with bitcoin down about 0.62% since midnight UTC and trading near $65,674. The leading asset has continued to move within the $64,000-$66,800 range that has remained intact over the past week.
The current price action suggests the market is taking a pause after a strong rebound. Bitcoin has climbed more than 13% from its July 1 low of $57,750, but after struggling to break above the $66,000 resistance level on Tuesday, the near-term outlook appears to favor sideways movement rather than a major breakout or decline.
Traditional financial markets have offered few clear signals. Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures are slightly lower by around 0.3%, the U.S. dollar index remains largely unchanged, and gold and silver have retreated after their recent safe-haven gains, leaving crypto traders without a strong macro driver.
Derivatives market overview
Futures activity remains muted:
Crypto derivatives markets are showing limited momentum, with 24-hour trading volume down roughly 1% to $147 billion and open interest remaining stable near $111 billion. The long-short ratio is almost evenly balanced, indicating that traders currently lack strong conviction toward either a bullish or bearish direction.
Bitcoin and Ethereum open interest trends:
Bitcoin futures open interest has declined to around 743,000 BTC after reaching above 760,000 BTC earlier in the week. The decrease suggests traders are reducing existing positions as the rally loses momentum. However, the decline may be viewed positively by bulls, as it appears to be driven more by long position liquidations rather than a wave of new short positions.
Ethereum has seen open interest increase despite its overnight price decline. Market activity continues to show buyers using immediate market orders, reflected by Ethereum’s positive open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD).
Altcoin momentum remains mixed:
The broader altcoin market is showing divided trends. Assets including ZEC, HBAR, LTC, AVAX, and SUI are recording positive CVD figures, suggesting stronger buyer activity. Meanwhile, BTC, XLM, DOGE, and SHIB are experiencing negative CVD readings, showing that sellers remain active in those markets.
Volatility indicators raise caution:
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) has risen for five consecutive days, creating a potential warning signal for traders. Since spot bitcoin ETFs launched, BTC’s price has maintained a consistent negative relationship with BVIV, meaning rising volatility has often preceded price weakness. Ethereum’s volatility index (EVIV), however, remains relatively stable.
Options market shows improving sentiment:
Options activity on Deribit and the OTC platform Paradigm showed strong demand for the BTC $70,000 call option expiring Aug. 7. At the same time, some traders purchased longer-term put options as downside protection. Ethereum options also showed increasing demand for bullish exposure.
Overall market anxiety appears to be declining, with BTC and ETH put-call skews moving closer to neutral levels. Ethereum’s one-week skew briefly turned negative, indicating a short-term shift where call options became more expensive than puts.
Token highlights
WLFI was Thursday’s strongest performer, jumping 12.18% to $0.063. The token linked to the Trump family recovered to a market capitalization of around $2 billion, although it remains significantly below its previous peak.
MORPHO continued its recent momentum, gaining nearly 4% to $1.989 and maintaining its position among the stronger-performing AI-related tokens over the past two weeks.
Ethena (ENA) advanced 2% to $0.092, extending a gradual recovery that has seen it outperform many DeFi competitors despite remaining more than 90% below its September 2025 high.
Lighter (LIT) declined nearly 3%, marking its third consecutive losing session as investors took profits following a rally of more than 200% between May and early July.
CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season indicator remains unchanged at 51 out of 100, with traders waiting for bitcoin to make a decisive move before determining the market’s next direction.
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