Crypto Markets Weaken as Derivatives Signal Bearish Sentiment; Trump-Linked WLFI Token Slumps

Bitcoin (BTC $109,574.46) slipped 0.7% over the past 24 hours, extending losses since midnight UTC with a further 0.9% decline. The price remains trapped within the range established in late August, but short-term momentum has turned lower.

The broader market followed suit. The CoinDesk 20 Index is down 1.3% since midnight, with nearly all components in the red. The only outlier is XRP (XRP $2.8136), which managed a marginal 0.1% gain.

Weak sentiment is reflected in the derivatives markets. Funding rates for perpetual futures have dropped, while put options—contracts that hedge against downside risk—are in higher demand than calls. Deribit noted open interest clustering between $105,000 and $110,000 strike prices, suggesting traders remain focused on downside protection. Roughly $4.5 billion in bitcoin options expire on Friday, coinciding with the release of the U.S. August jobs report.

Derivatives Positioning
Perpetual futures open interest across major exchanges has eased from nearly $33 billion to $30 billion, while the three-month annualized basis compressed to 5%–6% across Binance, OKX, and Deribit, leaving carry trades only modestly profitable.

Options data show a mixed picture: the implied volatility curve points to higher long-term volatility expectations, yet the 25-delta skew remains flat to negative, reflecting stronger demand for puts. Interestingly, 24-hour volumes tilted bullish, with 63% of activity in calls.

Funding rates remain stable, ranging from 4%–6% annualized, with Hyperliquid the only venue above 6%, hinting at isolated bullish positioning. Meanwhile, CoinGlass reported $225 million in liquidations over 24 hours, evenly split between longs and shorts. BTC accounted for $46 million, ETH $65 million, and other tokens $19 million. Binance heatmap data identified $110,250 as a key liquidation trigger should prices fall further.

Trump-Linked WLFI Token Crashes
Separately, Word Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi token tied to Donald Trump’s name, tumbled 21% on Thursday to a record low of $0.174, just days after launch. Traders attributed the decline to profit-taking among early investors, some of whom remain in the green from the initial token sale.

One participant reportedly turned a $15 million purchase into $250 million in profits, while another lost $2.2 million on WLFI futures. Despite its political branding, the project lacks distinguishing features from other DeFi tokens, leading traders to rotate out amid fading hype.

Frustration is rising among holders. “WLFI team, stop sleeping and start taking action. The community is already angry, at least don’t lose the last remaining investors,” one wrote on X.

The selloff mirrors January’s TRUMP memecoin, which crashed 89% after its initial surge. In response, WLFI’s team pledged that treasury tokens would not be sold on the market, instead being governed by community mechanisms. The assurance, however, failed to stop the price decline.