Crypto markets slid to their lowest levels in more than two weeks, with bitcoin dropping below $67,000 and ether approaching $2,000, as macro pressures and a wave of liquidations undermined sentiment.

Bitcoin was trading near $66,500, while ether hovered just above the $2,000 mark. The broader market weakened alongside, with the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) falling 2.2% since midnight UTC to its lowest level since March 9.

The downturn coincided with weakness in traditional markets. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped to around 23,760, leaving the index roughly 10% below its January highs and reflecting a broader shift toward risk aversion.

Oil prices remain a key driver. Crude continues to trade above $100 per barrel amid persistent tensions tied to the Iran conflict, fueling concerns about sticky inflation and tighter financial conditions.

Altcoins saw steeper losses, highlighting fragile market structure. ETHFI dropped 6%, while WLD, WIF, SEI and FET declined between 3.6% and 4.7%.

Derivatives positioning

Leverage played a central role in accelerating the sell-off. Nearly $300 million in long positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, compared with about $50 million in shorts. This marks the fifth major long liquidation event in 10 days, suggesting traders had been heavily positioned for upside that has yet to materialize.

XRP fell more than 2.5% even as its futures open interest rose 2% to 1.95 billion tokens, the highest level since early February. That combination points to increasing short interest, reinforced by negative cumulative volume delta and sub-zero funding rates.

Similar bearish positioning trends were evident across futures tied to bitcoin, solana, dogecoin and BNB.

Among major tokens, SHIB showed the most aggressive derisking, with the deepest negative open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta. In contrast, Canton Network’s CC token stood out with rising open interest and positive funding rates, signaling demand for bullish exposure.

Volatility signals remain relatively subdued. Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indices, BVIV and EVIV, continued to decline despite falling prices, indicating traders are not yet pricing in a sharp volatility spike.

More than $15 billion in bitcoin options expired on Deribit on Friday, removing the previously cited $75,000 “magnet” level and potentially opening the door for further downside as macro conditions weaken.

Options markets also reflect a defensive posture. Bitcoin and ether puts are trading at a 6–8 volatility premium to calls across maturities, highlighting sustained demand for downside protection.

Token trends

The altcoin market struggled to hold key support levels in a low-liquidity environment. The CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) led declines, falling 2.3%, while the broader CD20 index dropped 1.2%.

ONDO was a notable outlier, rising after Ondo Finance announced plans to tokenize five Franklin Templeton ETFs on its blockchain. The token gained more than 8% over the past 24 hours, though it gave back part of those gains later in the session.

Despite the broader sell-off, the average relative strength index (RSI) across crypto assets remains neutral, suggesting there may still be room for further downside in the near term.