Bitcoin slid back under $70,000 on Thursday as a spike in global energy prices and a steady-rate stance from the Federal Reserve dragged down risk sentiment across markets.

The крупнейшая cryptocurrency fell to around $69,600, marking a 1.6% decline since midnight UTC, while Ethereum dropped 1.7% to roughly $2,160. The weakness coincided with a surge in energy markets, with Brent crude climbing to $114 and Oman crude briefly touching $150.

European natural gas futures also jumped sharply, rising about 25% to above €78 per MWh after Iran targeted key Gulf energy infrastructure following an Israeli strike on its South Pars gas field. The escalation has heightened fears of supply disruptions and added to inflation concerns.

Meanwhile, the Fed kept its benchmark rate unchanged in the 3.50%–3.75% range, pausing its easing cycle and reinforcing support for the U.S. dollar. The combination of rising energy costs and tighter monetary expectations pushed investors toward a risk-off stance, with Nasdaq 100 futures down around 0.3%.

Derivatives positioning

The shift in sentiment was clearly reflected in crypto derivatives. Roughly $600 million in leveraged positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with long positions taking the bulk of the losses as bullish traders were caught off guard.

Open interest across crypto futures declined 5.6% to about $106.9 billion, indicating reduced participation. Ether futures saw a sharper 9% drop in open interest alongside a 6% fall in spot price, pointing to capital outflows.

Futures tied to Tether Gold and Zcash also posted double-digit declines, underscoring growing investor caution.

Bearish positioning is building, with funding rates turning negative across major assets including BTC, ETH, BNB, and SOL. The 24-hour cumulative volume delta has also turned negative for most tokens, reinforcing the shift toward short exposure.

Volatility expectations are climbing. BVIV rose more than 5% to 58.36%, reversing a week-long downtrend, with a similar pattern seen in ether markets. On Deribit, rising demand for put options signals increased hedging against downside risk.

Options flows show traders leaning into volatility strategies, with strong demand for ether straddles, while bitcoin traders favored risk reversals and put spreads.

Token moves

Altcoins were hit harder in the sell-off. Bittensor dropped 8.8%, while Hyperliquid fell 6.5%, reflecting thin liquidity conditions following October’s $19 billion leverage wipeout.

A few tokens managed to buck the trend. NEO gained 4.2%, while restaking protocol token Ether.fi rose 1.5% to around $0.55.

Broader crypto benchmarks also moved lower. The CoinDesk 20 Index declined about 1%, while the DeFi Select Index and CoinDesk Memecoin Index fell 1.4% and 2%, respectively, highlighting widespread weakness across digital assets.