Bitcoin slipped back below $70,000 on Thursday as surging energy prices and a steady-rate stance from the Federal Reserve triggered a broad risk-off move across crypto and equities.
The leading cryptocurrency fell to around $69,600, down roughly 1.6% since midnight UTC, while Ethereum declined 1.7% to near $2,160. The pressure came as energy markets spiked, with Brent crude climbing to $114 and Oman crude surging as high as $150.
European natural gas prices also jumped sharply, with futures rising about 25% to above €78 per MWh after Iran targeted key Gulf energy infrastructure following an Israeli strike on its South Pars gas field. The escalation has intensified concerns about global supply disruptions.
Meanwhile, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged in the 3.50%–3.75% range, effectively pausing its rate-cutting cycle and supporting the U.S. dollar. The combination of higher energy costs and tighter monetary expectations weighed on risk appetite, with Nasdaq 100 futures down around 0.3%.
Derivatives positioning
The shift in sentiment was evident in derivatives markets. Roughly $600 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with long positions making up the bulk of the losses as bullish traders were caught offside.
Total futures open interest fell 5.6% to about $106.9 billion, signaling a reduction in market participation. Ether futures saw a sharper 9% drop in open interest alongside a 6% decline in spot price, pointing to capital outflows.
Futures tied to Tether Gold and Zcash also recorded double-digit declines, underscoring rising risk aversion.
Bearish sentiment is gaining traction, with funding rates turning negative across major assets including BTC, ETH, BNB, and SOL. The 24-hour cumulative volume delta has also flipped negative for many tokens, reinforcing the shift toward short positioning.
Volatility expectations are climbing. BVIV rose more than 5% to 58.36%, snapping a week-long decline, with a similar trend seen in ether markets. On Deribit, increased demand for put options signals growing concern over further downside.
Options flows show traders positioning for volatility, with strong demand for ether straddles, while bitcoin traders are favoring risk reversals and put spreads.
Token moves
Altcoins were hit harder in the sell-off. Bittensor dropped 8.8%, while Hyperliquid fell 6.5% since midnight, reflecting fragile liquidity conditions following October’s $19 billion leverage wipeout.
A few tokens bucked the trend. NEO rose 4.2%, while restaking protocol token Ether.fi gained 1.5% to around $0.55.
Broader crypto indices also moved lower. The CoinDesk 20 Index declined about 1%, while the DeFi Select Index and CoinDesk Memecoin Index fell 1.4% and 2%, respectively, highlighting widespread weakness across digital assets.
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