Crypto markets extended their slide as a wave of derivatives liquidations met mounting macroeconomic pressures, leaving traders on edge over the risk of further losses if bitcoin fails to regain critical support.

Bitcoin (BTC) dropped more than 7% over the past 24 hours to trade just below $70,000, while ether (ETH) fell to around $2,095, deepening a broad sell-off across digital assets. Market sentiment deteriorated sharply, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index plunging to 11 — its weakest reading this year — pointing to extreme investor pessimism.

“Bitcoin has moved back into a price region that acted as a ceiling for much of 2024, which is why some buyers are stepping in,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. He cautioned that past cycles suggest downside risks remain. “In May 2022, a similarly aggressive sell-off was followed by a period of consolidation before prices resumed their decline,” he noted.

Selling pressure was amplified by derivatives markets, according to Bitget’s chief market analyst, as leveraged positions were unwound across major tokens. Broader risk-off sentiment — driven by geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over interest-rate trajectories — has further dampened demand for higher-volatility assets such as XRP.

Developments in traditional markets added to the unease. Oil prices remained volatile amid concerns of escalating U.S.–Iran tensions, raising the risk of renewed inflationary pressure that could further undermine risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Derivatives positioning

Outflows from crypto futures markets continued, with cumulative notional open interest sliding to roughly $103 billion. Margin stress triggered forced liquidations totaling more than $800 million over the past day, with losses potentially accelerating after bitcoin slipped below the psychologically important $70,000 level.

Despite the liquidation surge, longer-dated sentiment has not fully capitulated. Ninety-day bitcoin futures continue to trade at a premium to spot prices, a condition that historically tends to fade near market bottoms. Meanwhile, open interest increased in a small group of tokens — including XAUT, LINK, TRX and PEPE — bucking the broader decline.

Perpetual funding rates for several altcoins turned negative, signaling rising demand for short exposure. Options markets reflected heightened fear, with near-term bitcoin and ether put options on Deribit trading at premiums of more than 10 points over calls. Large over-the-counter bitcoin trades remained skewed toward bearish strategies such as put spreads.

Token talk

Altcoins largely mirrored bitcoin’s weakness during Asia and European trading hours. Privacy-focused tokens monero (XMR) and zcash (ZEC) each fell by as much as 7%.

XRP saw sharper losses, sliding more than 10% overnight amid approximately $30 million in liquidations. The decline accelerated around 09:00 UTC, when prices dropped from $1.44 to $1.35.

Derivatives exchange token MYX was a notable outlier, gaining 4% over the past 24 hours and extending its year-to-date rally to 56%.

The bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index fell 8.34%, underperforming the altcoin-weighted CoinDesk 80 (CD80), which declined 5.92%. Several altcoins are now exhibiting entrenched bearish trends marked by successive lower highs and lower lows — patterns not seen since the 2022 crypto bear market