Bitcoin slid to five-day lows on Thursday as repeated failures to breach $94,500 reinforced a well-defined trading range.
BTC fell below $90,000, dropping from a local high of $91,570 at 01:15 UTC to trade at $91,536, its lowest level in five days. This marks the third failed attempt to surpass $94,500, following similar rejections on Dec. 4 and Dec. 10, reflecting price behavior largely unchanged over the past six weeks. Bitcoin’s current range sits between $85,000 and $94,500, providing relative stability after October’s selloff from a record high of $126,220 on Oct. 6 to $80,600 by Nov. 21.
Altcoins underperform
Altcoins fell sharply, with Zcash (ZEC) plunging over 16% between midnight and 10:00 UTC, and PUMP also posting double-digit losses. The DeFi sector led broader declines, with the DeFi index (DFX) down 3.12% and the memecoin index (CDMEME) off 3.09%. The CoinDesk 20 fell 2.23%, showing that larger-cap tokens weathered the downturn better. Liquidity strains worsened losses, highlighted by a $12 million ZEC long liquidation amid thin order books. ZEC also faces uncertainty after key development team members resigned following a dispute with a nonprofit supporting the network. CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” indicator remains bearish at 23/100, well below its September peak of 78/100.
Derivatives and positioning
Over $400 million in leveraged crypto futures were liquidated in the past 24 hours, primarily on bullish bets, highlighting a bearish leverage skew. Overall futures open interest fell to $140 billion from $141 billion, with BTC open interest up 2% amid positive funding rates, while ETH, SOL, XRP, ZEC, and SUI saw outflows. Funding rates are positive for most majors, except BNB; LINK, XLM, AVAX, and CC show negative rates. BTC and ETH puts trade at a premium to calls on Deribit, though short-dated skew has eased. Investors are also favoring volatility strategies, including straddles, strangles, and ETH put spreads.
Macro context
U.S. equity futures fell, with Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 down 0.27% and 0.29%, while the dollar index (DXY) climbed over 1% since Dec. 24.
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