Bitcoin Slips as Treasury Yields Climb to Their Highest Level Since 2007

Bitcoin extended its decline Thursday after an early recovery faded, with rising U.S. Treasury yields weighing on crypto markets for a second consecutive session.

BTC traded at $83,344, down 1.23% since midnight UTC. The weakness followed a jump in the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest level since 2007. Asian and European traders stepped in to buy the dip, limiting some of the losses.

The broader crypto market also remained under pressure. Ether fell 1.55% to $2,659.02, XRP declined 2.87%, and Solana dropped 1.61% to $113.14. Smaller tokens briefly moved higher during European hours before selling returned, leaving NEAR and HYPE down 3.32% and 3.94%, respectively.

The dollar index climbed 0.13% to 101.24, reaching its highest level since July. Gold slipped 0.71% to $4,257, while U.S. equity futures pointed to further weakness. S&P 500 futures fell 0.61%, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined more than 1%.

Derivatives Positioning

Bearish activity remained visible in derivatives markets, with shorts accounting for more than 52% of 24-hour taker volume. Total volume increased 10% to $250 billion, while open interest declined nearly 6% to $149 billion. The combination of rising volume and falling OI suggests traders are mainly closing existing positions rather than aggressively adding new shorts.

Bitcoin futures open interest fell 6% while BTC’s price declined 3% over 24 hours. Because OI is calculated on a notional basis, the larger decline suggests actual contracts are being closed. The data therefore points toward long-position unwinding rather than a major buildup of fresh short positions.

Large Binance traders are showing a less bearish pattern. The whale long/short account ratio has moved back above 1 to 1.30, while the whale position ratio has stayed below 2 for a second straight day. This suggests larger accounts may be remaining cautious or positioning against the broader market selloff.

XRP is displaying a similar pattern to bitcoin, with its notional OI declining faster than its price. That points to actual position closures. ETH and SOL are different, as their OI declines roughly match their price drops, suggesting existing positions are primarily losing value rather than being actively unwound.

The 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta remains negative for major assets such as BTC and ETH, indicating aggressive sellers continue to outpace buyers. XRP, SUI and AVAX recorded particularly negative readings, highlighting where selling pressure is strongest.

Litecoin has bucked the broader trend. LTC gained nearly 8% over 24 hours, while futures OI measured in tokens rose to 8.96 million, its highest level since Jan. 18. The increase extends a rising trend that began Sept. 19. Higher prices combined with rising coin-denominated OI point to fresh long positioning rather than merely short covering.

Options markets have remained relatively subdued despite the spot selloff. Thirty-day implied volatility for BTC and ETH remains within recent ranges, while short-term implied volatility is still low compared with realized volatility. This indicates options traders are not pricing in a major panic.

Bitcoin’s one-week options skew has turned positive, signaling increased demand for downside protection. Ethereum has experienced the same shift, aligning with the broader defensive positioning in the market.

More than $17 billion of BTC and ETH options are due to expire on Deribit Friday, with most contracts currently in the money. Traders will be watching whether these positions are rolled into later expiries or settled, either of which could contribute to greater volatility heading into the weekend.

Token Movers

Litecoin maintained its gains despite the wider market weakness, rising 8.1% since midnight UTC and 6.2% over the past 24 hours. Traders are positioning ahead of next July’s block reward halving, with historical market bottoms typically forming six to 12 months before the event.

Ethereum Classic gained 7.6% to $9.42, while Morpho advanced 4.1% to $2.67.

Tokens that had rallied sharply earlier in the week faced the strongest selling. Venice, an AI inference token, fell 5.2% since midnight and 9.6% over 24 hours to $28.71. Lighter declined 4.2% since midnight and 2.1% over 24 hours to $5.09, while Pump.fun dropped 4.1% on the day and 11% over the rolling 24-hour period.

Hyperliquid declined 3.9% to $90.39, while NEAR fell 3.1% to $4.20. Venice was down 8.7% over 24 hours despite being one of the week’s strongest performers.

XRP and Bitcoin Cash were the weakest among the major cryptocurrencies, each falling 2.7% since midnight UTC to $1.46 and $328.56. XRP was down 8.3% over 24 hours, while Bitcoin Cash declined 6.8%, reversing some of its gains following Wednesday’s CME futures announcement.