Bitcoin held above $62,500 while ether stayed near $1,665, but weak price action and a widening preference for puts suggest bearish sentiment remains firmly in control.

Crypto markets stayed under pressure on Wednesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) each slipping less than 0.4% since midnight UTC. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) declined 0.9%, as 18 of its components ended the session lower.

The absence of any meaningful rebound is becoming a key concern, especially as U.S. equity futures attempted to recover from Tuesday’s tech-led selloff.

Even so, a few altcoins outperformed, with Jupiter (JUP) and Monero (XMR) gaining between 2% and 4%, indicating that pockets of demand still exist despite the broader downturn.

Bitcoin is now approaching a critical support zone near $60,000. A break below this level could return price action to a range last seen in late 2024, with $52,000 emerging as a major downside reference point.

Derivatives positioning

Derivatives markets showed signs of cooling, with volume falling 27% to $141 billion over the past 24 hours. Open interest rose 2% to $106 billion, while liquidations totaled $158 million, the lowest in two weeks.

BTC futures open interest remained steady at roughly 730,000 BTC for the eighth straight day, signaling ongoing consolidation.

ETH futures, however, saw renewed activity, with open interest rising to 14.3 million ETH—its highest in two weeks, up from a recent low of 13.74 million. This increase coincided with ETH sliding from about $1,780 to $1,650 over two days, a pattern often associated with short-selling into weakness.

Funding rates remain slightly positive, but negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggests sellers are driving price action through aggressive market orders.

SOL futures continue to expand rapidly, with open interest hitting a record 77.68 million tokens. However, negative funding and CVD readings indicate the growth is being led by new short positions.

In contrast, ZEC futures are cooling, with open interest dropping to 2 million tokens from around 2.55 million last month.

Across the broader market, bearish positioning dominates most top-25 tokens, reflected in negative OI-adjusted CVD readings for a second consecutive day.

Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) eased to 43%, down from nearly 48% earlier in the week, with ether volatility following a similar trend.

On Deribit, one-week options skew widened to 10.9 volatility points in favor of puts, up from about 7 points, highlighting rising demand for downside protection. One-month skew also expanded.

Block flows on Paradigm included a $62,000 strike straddle expiring July 3, a strategy typically used to position for larger moves in either direction.

Token performance

While Monero (XMR) and Jupiter (JUP) posted gains, tokens such as Ethena (ENA), Pump (PUMP), and Stellar (XLM) fell between 2.2% and 3.5%.

Ethena has now dropped more than 90% from its peak of $0.87 last September, underscoring pressure on yield strategies that rely on sustained bullish funding conditions.

Similar weakness persists in legacy assets like Litecoin (LTC) and Cardano (ADA), both of which remain well below their 2021 highs and locked in longer-term downtrends.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) continues to strengthen, nearing its May 2025 peak. A stronger dollar typically acts as a headwind for crypto and other risk assets as capital shifts toward safer positions.