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Bitcoin options activity and record-high open interest in gold indicate traders are leaning toward further downside rather than a lasting recovery.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose about 0.3% to $58,700 on Wednesday, showing slight resilience after briefly dropping to $57,700 shortly after midnight UTC—its lowest level since September 2024.
Ether (ETH) hovered near $1,580, also staging a modest rebound following early-session weakness.
U.S. equity index futures moved lower overnight, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures down roughly 0.2% to 0.4%.
Risk assets—including cryptocurrencies and tech stocks—have struggled in recent weeks as inflation concerns boost the U.S. dollar and weigh on sentiment.
Altcoins have borne the brunt of the sell-off, with thinner liquidity and weaker demand amplifying downside moves and triggering liquidation cascades.
Derivatives positioning
Around $395 million in crypto futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with long positions making up the majority—reflecting bitcoin’s dip below $58,000 earlier in the session.
Crude futures listed on crypto exchanges also saw notable activity, with $15 million in liquidations—the fifth-largest among all assets—underscoring rising interest in traditional markets within crypto platforms.
Bitcoin futures open interest climbed to 768,000 BTC from 740,000 BTC a day earlier. While this signals fresh capital inflows, directional conviction is mixed. Funding rates near 5% suggest a mild bullish bias, but a negative cumulative volume delta over 24 hours indicates more aggressive selling pressure.
Gold perpetual futures open interest surged to a record 222,000 XAU tokens. At the same time, spot gold is flashing a bearish “death cross,” with the 50-day moving average slipping below the 200-day—an indicator also reflected in major gold ETFs.
Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indices have steadied after strong gains in June. Bitcoin’s BVIV index is currently capped by its 200-day moving average and supported by the 50-day. A breakout above resistance could trigger renewed volatility and potentially deeper declines.
On Deribit, put options for both bitcoin and ether continue to trade at a premium to calls across maturities, signaling persistent demand for downside protection.
At OTC desk Paradigm, traders showed interest in September bitcoin puts at the $50,000 strike—suggesting expectations of a potential drop below that level by the end of Q3. Meanwhile, a bullish position emerged in Solana, with a call option at the $86 strike purchased while the token trades near $75.
Token highlights
While most altcoins remain under pressure, Solana-based DeFi token Jupiter (JUP) has bucked the trend, gaining 11% since midnight UTC alongside a 55% jump in trading volume.
The move coincides with rising total value locked, which has climbed to over 20 million SOL from 13.9 million in May. The protocol functions as a decentralized exchange aggregator.
Stellar (XLM) also extended gains, rising from $0.168 on Sunday to $0.196—up roughly 17%.
These isolated gains have helped keep CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” index near 48/100, even as broader market weakness persists.
AI-focused tokens have continued to lag. Bittensor (TAO) fell 2.5% on Wednesday and is now down more than 30% since June 15.
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