Bitcoin slips past $90,000 as altcoins lose ground in low-liquidity session: Crypto Markets Today

Bitcoin dropped to five-day lows on Thursday as repeated failures to clear $94,500 reinforced its tight trading range.

BTC fell below $90,000, sliding from a local high of $91,570 at 01:15 UTC to trade at $91,536, marking the third unsuccessful attempt to breach $94,500 after similar rejections on Dec. 4 and Dec. 10. Bitcoin’s range is now well-defined between $85,000 and $94,500, providing some stability following the October selloff from a record $126,220 on Oct. 6 to $80,600 by Nov. 21.

Altcoins under pressure
Altcoins faced heavy losses, led by Zcash (ZEC), which plunged more than 16% between midnight and 10:00 UTC, while PUMP also fell in double digits. DeFi tokens bore the brunt of the selloff, with the DeFi index (DFX) down 3.12% and the memecoin index (CDMEME) off 3.09%. The CoinDesk 20, representing larger-cap tokens, fell 2.23%. Liquidity strains worsened the moves; a $12 million long on ZEC triggered outsized losses amid thin order books. ZEC also faces uncertainty after key development team members resigned following a dispute with a supporting nonprofit. CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” indicator remains deeply bearish at 23/100, far below September’s 78/100 peak.

Derivatives and positioning
Over $400 million in leveraged crypto futures were liquidated in 24 hours, mostly on bullish positions. Overall open interest fell to $140 billion from $141 billion, though BTC futures OI rose 2% with positive funding rates, while ETH, SOL, XRP, ZEC, and SUI saw outflows. BTC and ETH puts trade at a premium on Deribit, though short-dated skew has eased. Volatility strategies, including straddles, strangles, and ETH put spreads, remain popular.

Macro backdrop
U.S. equity futures declined, with Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 down 0.27% and 0.29%, while the dollar index (DXY) climbed over 1% since Dec. 24.