Markets remained largely subdued ahead of the July U.S. inflation reading, with bitcoin hovering near $64,000, crude oil close to $90 a barrel and Harmony dealing with a fresh security breach.

Crypto prices showed little movement on Wednesday as investors assessed the Harmony exploit while waiting for the U.S. CPI report, an important economic release that can shape sentiment across risk assets.

Harmony, a layer-1 blockchain serving DeFi applications and marketplaces, confirmed that its network had been exploited during the early Asian trading hours. The attacker reportedly generated about 4 billion ONE tokens through empty blocks, equal to roughly 26% of the token’s circulating supply.

About 2.8 billion of the newly created ONE tokens were quickly moved to exchanges, sending the cryptocurrency down as much as 40% and pushing it to a new all-time low.

Broader markets were also quiet ahead of the July CPI release at 12:30 UTC. Brent crude remained near $90 a barrel after renewed Houthi attacks on vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and a U.S. strike on a ship in the Gulf of Oman raised fresh concerns about energy supplies.

Bitcoin largely ignored the developments, gaining 0.23% from midnight UTC to trade around $63,900. The Fear and Greed Index was at 38.

Derivatives Positioning

Futures markets remain flat as taker sentiment turns bearish:
While overall crypto futures activity has remained steady, with little change in volume or open interest, underlying positioning has become more defensive. Short positions now represent 51.36% of taker activity, reversing the bullish bias recorded earlier in the week.

AVAX sees stronger bearish positioning:
Avalanche’s AVAX was one of the biggest underperformers among the top 100 cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours, even as open interest rose 6%. The combination of declining prices and rising OI points to continued weakness. Its 24-hour cumulative volume delta was also the most negative among major assets, indicating that traders are actively using market orders to establish short positions.

DOGE futures accumulate significant leverage:
Open interest in Dogecoin futures has surpassed 17.2 billion tokens, reaching its highest level since October. OI has climbed from approximately 12 billion tokens in June while DOGE has remained near $0.07. The growing leverage alongside stagnant prices could precede a sharp volatility event.

BTC and ETH positioning stays limited:
Activity in the two largest cryptocurrencies remains muted. Bitcoin open interest is still below 750,000 BTC, continuing a period of weak participation that has lasted several weeks. Ether has shown a similar pattern, suggesting both institutional and retail traders remain cautious toward the major assets.

Altcoins continue to experience selling pressure:
Negative 24-hour CVD readings dominate among the 25 largest cryptocurrencies, highlighting broad selling activity across the altcoin market. Chainlink, Cronos and Tron were among the few major tokens showing notable strength.

Bitcoin volatility remains low ahead of CPI:
Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility gauge, BVIV, has fallen to 37.5% from Monday’s peak of 38.66%. Short-term one-week implied volatility is also subdued, showing that options traders are pricing in a relatively limited reaction to the CPI release. This could leave the market vulnerable if the inflation data surprises expectations.

Options traders keep $70,000 in focus:
The $70,000 bitcoin call remained the most actively traded contract on Deribit for a second consecutive day. At the same time, interest in BTC strangles has increased, suggesting traders are preparing for a significant move in either direction.

Token Activity

CRV leads the weekly rally:
Curve’s CRV has risen around 35% over the past seven days and is trading near $0.28. The gains come as the protocol approaches a 15% reduction in annual emissions. CRV has added more than 3% since midnight UTC.

UNI plunges more than 10%:
Uniswap’s UNI dropped over 10% during the past 24 hours without an obvious catalyst. The decline demonstrates how vulnerable altcoins can be to sharp moves when liquidity and market depth remain thin.

Monero rebounds from Tuesday’s losses:
Monero’s XMR has advanced 5.8% since midnight UTC, completely reversing its decline from the previous session.

AI-linked tokens regain ground:
NEAR, FET and TAO also moved into positive territory, rising between 1.3% and 2.3%. The gains suggest sentiment toward AI-focused crypto projects is beginning to improve after several months of declining investor interest.