Bitcoin and the broader crypto market came under renewed selling pressure after profit-taking following BTC’s monthly peak combined with fresh Iran-related military developments involving U.S. bases. Bears dominated trading across most digital assets.
The crypto market faced another wave of declines, with bitcoin falling 1.1% and ether dropping 1.7% since midnight UTC.
The pullback followed bitcoin’s climb to a monthly high of $65,500 on Wednesday, which encouraged traders to lock in gains after the recent rally.
Altcoins such as PUMP and ZEC also retreated, each losing 4.4% as their previous day’s strong performances faded. The moves highlighted weak liquidity and limited conviction on both the upside and downside.
U.S. stock markets also weakened, with Nasdaq 100 futures slipping 0.25% and extending a decline that has continued over the past month.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East remained a key driver of market sentiment. Iran launched strikes against U.S. military facilities in nearby Gulf countries on Thursday, while the U.S. continued its own air campaign, increasing uncertainty across global markets.
Derivatives Market Shows Mixed Positioning
Ether declined 1.7% since midnight UTC, slightly underperforming bitcoin. The move appears to be driven more by the unwinding of bullish positions rather than a surge in fresh short bets. This is reflected in open interest falling to 14.35 million ETH from Wednesday’s five-week high of 14.45 million ETH. Bitcoin futures showed a similar pattern.
XRP open interest, meanwhile, climbed to a 10-day high of 2.21 billion XRP even as the token’s spot price slipped 0.6%. The combination suggests traders may be increasing bearish exposure, although XRP’s positive funding rates indicate some bullish positioning remains. The token’s 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) turned negative, suggesting short positions are being opened through market orders rather than passive limit orders.
SUI was another token that saw rising open interest, with positions increasing 15%. However, total open interest at 654 million tokens remains within the range seen earlier this week. The SUI token itself declined nearly 2% over the past 24 hours.
Across the broader market, most cryptocurrencies excluding bitcoin, ether, and Monero showed negative 24-hour open-interest-adjusted CVD readings, signaling that sellers are currently driving price action.
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility rose 2% to 38%. Since volatility often moves back toward historical averages, previous periods with readings below 40% have frequently preceded renewed market turbulence.
In the options market, Deribit data showed increased activity in bitcoin call options with $70,000 and $72,000 strike prices. The activity likely came from a large bullish call spread, betting that bitcoin could rise toward $72,000 by the end of July.
For ether, the most actively traded bullish position over the past 24 hours was a July-end call option with a $2,300 strike price.
Token Market Update
AI-related token MORPHO moved against the broader market trend on Thursday, gaining 3.5% since midnight as it attempted to retest the $2.20 resistance level. That level previously triggered a rejection that pushed the token down to $1.85 on July 2.
Most other altcoins followed bitcoin and ether lower. HYPE, SOL, and ENA declined between 1.3% and 1.8%, while NEAR, JUP, and DASH recorded sharper losses.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index remained range-bound at 48 out of 100 after falling from 58 on Monday as investors shifted attention back toward bitcoin.
Memecoins remain an area of interest within the altcoin market, particularly those launched on Robinhood’s new blockchain. One example, Cashcat (CASHCAT), surged from obscurity to reach a $220 million market capitalization during the first week after Robinhood Chain launched. However, it has since fallen to around $91 million despite maintaining approximately $60 million in daily trading volume.
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