Bitcoin and ether are rebounding after a sharp market-wide selloff, even as derivatives traders continue to pare risk exposure.
Tuesday’s downturn sent bitcoin to $72,870, its lowest since November 2024, and ether to $2,027, a level last seen in May 2025. Both have recovered modestly, with BTC trading near $76,100 and ETH around $2,255.
Altcoins posted mixed results. Privacy coins staged gains, while Solana-linked tokens PUMP and JUP fell 2% and 2.5%, respectively. The broader crypto recovery followed the U.S. House of Representatives passing a government funding package to end a partial shutdown, lifting equity futures and global markets. Precious metals also rallied, with gold climbing above $5,000 and silver rising nearly 6% to $90.
Derivatives and positioning
Traders continue to de-risk, pushing total crypto futures open interest down to $105.9 billion, the lowest since April 2025. About $679 million in positions were liquidated over 24 hours, mostly from bullish bets. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility hit 53% annualized—the highest since Dec. 1—highlighting elevated market fear.
Open interest in BTC and ETH futures fell 0.7% and 2%, while DOGE and HYPE experienced larger outflows. LINK futures saw a 2% increase in OI with positive cumulative volume delta, signaling some renewed bullish pressure, mirrored by positive 24-hour readings in TRX, XLM, and ZEC. Options markets show continued demand for downside protection, with short-dated BTC and ETH puts trading at a 10–12 volatility premium to calls. Block trades favored put spreads, a bearish strategy.
Token movements
Derivatives exchange tokens HYPE, LIT, and ASTER fell as traders rotated into privacy coins. HYPE lost 8.5% but remains up roughly 30% YTD. Monero (XMR) rebounded 4% to $324.87 after steep losses since mid-January, while Zcash (ZEC) gained 3.4% to $232.94, recovering slightly from a 62% drop since November.
Altcoins generally underperformed bitcoin during the selloff, with BTC dominance rising above 59% from 58.5% at the start of the year. SOL, ADA, and XRP are trading at their lowest levels since 2024, retracing the gains of recent bullish rallies—a pattern typical of crypto bear markets, where low liquidity exaggerates altcoin volatility.
Share this content:
