Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $59,800 at the start of the week, while Solana gained around 2%, though derivatives positioning and technical signals continue to point to persistent downside risk.

Crypto markets remain fragile into month-end, with BTC still below $60,000 and ETH under $1,600. Bitcoin has now lost more than half its value since its October peak, with analysts warning that further downside remains possible.

Despite the broader weakness, BTC posted a modest intraday gain of 0.6%, hovering near $59,800. However, the broader market structure continues to lean bearish.

Solana has staged a rebound after briefly hitting its lowest level since late 2023 earlier this month, climbing more than 13% since Thursday and roughly 2% overnight.

U.S. equity futures also moved higher, with Nasdaq 100 futures up 1% and S&P 500 futures gaining 0.75%, though both remain in a broader downtrend from mid-June highs.

Derivatives positioning

Over $200 million in futures positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with longs bearing the bulk of losses. In the most recent four-hour window, nearly $20 million in liquidations skewed toward shorts, suggesting BTC’s return toward $60,000 caught bearish traders offside.

Overall futures activity remains subdued. Bitcoin open interest has slipped back to early-month levels, fully erasing Friday’s spike to 775,000 BTC and signaling reduced appetite for leverage.

Ether shows a similar pattern, with open interest holding around 14.2 million ETH.

Solana remains comparatively elevated at 72.7 million SOL, just below recent highs above 76 million, pointing to continued volatility risk.

AVAX gained more than 5% last week but has seen open interest fall to 38.07 million tokens—its lowest since early April—raising questions about the durability of the move.

The 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta remains broadly negative across major tokens. Outside TRX, XMR, and ZEC, most assets show bearish readings, indicating sustained sell pressure via market orders.

Volatility signals, however, show signs of stabilization. The BVIV index, which tracks BTC’s 30-day implied volatility, fell 5% to 47%, pausing its recent climb and suggesting expectations for calmer conditions—often associated with slow, spot-driven price action.

Options markets remain defensively positioned. On Deribit, BTC and ETH continue to show a bias toward puts. The $60,000 BTC put now carries nearly $1 billion in notional open interest, close to the $1.11 billion concentrated at the $80,000 call. These strike levels have anchored positioning for months. If BTC breaks lower, the next major cluster sits at $50,000, with about $712 million in open interest.

In shorter-dated activity, traders have been selling strangles in the July 10 expiry HYPE options on Derive, a strategy that profits from range-bound trading.

Token trends

Altcoins remain broadly directionless, tracking bitcoin’s lead as speculative appetite stays muted and traders wait for a clearer breakout or breakdown.

Privacy coins DASH and ZEC rose more than 2% on Monday after sharp declines of 18%–30% over the prior two weeks, suggesting a relief bounce rather than a trend reversal.

PUMP slipped 1.5% since midnight, alongside AI token FET, which also traded lower.

CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” index remains at 49/100, unchanged for much of June, reflecting a market still dominated by bitcoin’s direction.