Despite a brief recovery in the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, selling pressure remained the dominant theme. Bitcoin gained 0.7 percent during the day, trading around 67,000 dollars. Even so, the asset sits at a critical juncture, having declined by 9.5 percent since Sunday. After failing to break above 81,000 dollars last month, Bitcoin has now retraced to the midpoint of the price band established between February and April.
Key levels for Bitcoin and Ether
One of the most closely watched scenarios in the market is the risk of Bitcoin falling below 60,000 dollars, which could trigger a fresh wave of selling. In such a case, analysts see a potential pullback towards 54,000 dollars—a zone considered a major support area dating back to both 2024 and 2021.
Ether, meanwhile, rose 0.9 percent since midnight to 1,870 dollars. However, this uptick followed the coin’s recent drop to its lowest level since February. The weak performance of major crypto assets has drawn more attention as U.S. stock markets once again broke record highs on Tuesday—a divergence that is making some investors uneasy, given the historical correlation between the two sectors.
Over the last 24 hours, leveraged crypto futures saw more than 1.7 billion dollars in positions liquidated. Most of these liquidations hit long positions after Bitcoin fell to 65,500 dollars during the day.
Deeper pressure in the futures market
According to data, 24-hour trading volume surged by 27 percent to roughly 300 billion dollars. In contrast, the total size of open positions across the market edged down by just over 2 percent. The decline in open interest in tandem with heavy liquidations suggests that bullish leveraged bets are being wiped out and appetite for new leveraged exposure has weakened.
Nevertheless, open interest for Bitcoin futures remains above 800,000 BTC, hovering near its historical peak and rising for a third consecutive day. As spot prices fall while open positions grow, this pattern may indicate that new short positions are fueling the downward momentum.
Seven-day open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta has also turned negative. This data points to a clear dominance of sell-side market orders. For major tokens including ETH, ADA, SUI, XRP, and SOL, both the seven-day and 24-hour cumulative volume deltas have stayed negative. Despite this, funding rates ranging from slightly positive to slightly negative indicate that bearish trades have not yet become overwhelmingly crowded.
Mini glossary: Open interest refers to the total number of outstanding contracts in futures trading, while cumulative volume delta shows the gap between aggressive buy and sell orders, helping to assess which side is dominating the market.
Diverging moves among altcoins
Artificial intelligence-themed crypto assets managed to hold relatively strong during the day. NEAR, RENDER, and FET each gained about 9 percent on Wednesday. Ethena also stood out among prominent altcoins, with ENA surging 9.3 percent since midnight and over 20 percent in the last 24 hours after Coinbase announced it would integrate Ethena features into a new savings account product. Coinbase remains one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S.
Despite broader market softness, CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season indicator rose to 53 points—its highest level since early March. This reading signals that even with persistent pressure on major coins, risk appetite for higher-volatility altcoins has not entirely disappeared. On the other hand, the Humanity Protocol, which rallied 200 percent in the past week, has now entered a correction phase, losing a quarter of its value in just 24 hours—with daily trading volume plunging 55 percent to 314 million dollars.
Options market signals increased hedging
Jittery market sentiment has been mirrored by volatility indices. The 30-day implied volatility indicators for BTC and ETH—BVIV and EVIV—registered their strongest daily jumps since the sharp decline on February 5. If this rise continues, it could mean ongoing stress in the markets.
Data from Deribit further demonstrated that investors are seeking greater protection against downside risk. The one-week put-call skew approached 20 percent earlier today. The most actively traded contracts over the past 24 hours were puts: one expiring June 5 with a 70,000 dollar strike, and another expiring June 26 at a 55,000 dollar strike. In terms of block trades, Bitcoin call spreads and Ether put spreads took the spotlight. On the ZEC front, open interest in futures has climbed for a third straight day to 2.43 million ZEC. The token has risen 6.3 percent over the last week and, along with HYPE, remains among the few assets with a positive 24-hour cumulative volume delta.
