Updated
Updated · CoinDesk · Jun 24
Bitcoin, Ether Slip Under 0.4% as $106 Billion Open Interest Signals Fresh Shorts
Updated
Updated · CoinDesk · Jun 24

Bitcoin, Ether Slip Under 0.4% as $106 Billion Open Interest Signals Fresh Shorts

3 articles · Updated · CoinDesk · Jun 24

Summary

  • Bitcoin and ether each fell less than 0.4% by Wednesday, while the CoinDesk 20 Index lost 0.9% with 18 constituents down, extending a weak crypto session despite a partial rebound in U.S. equity futures.
  • $106 billion in derivatives open interest rose 2% as 24-hour volume dropped 27% to $141 billion, a mix that points to bearish positioning rather than capitulation; liquidations were only $158 million, the lowest in two weeks.
  • Ether open interest climbed to 14.3 million ETH as spot prices slid from about $1,780 to $1,650, and SOL open interest hit a record 77.68 million tokens with negative funding and CVD—both signs of fresh shorting.
  • Deribit's one-week put-call skew widened to 10.9 volatility points from about 7, showing stronger demand for downside protection as bitcoin tests the key $60,000 support level.
  • A stronger U.S. dollar added pressure on risk assets, though pockets of demand remained: jupiter and monero gained 2% to 4% even as tokens including ENA, PUMP and XLM fell 2.2% to 3.5%.

Insights

With bearish bets hitting extremes, could a $10B options expiry ignite a surprise Bitcoin rally?
As traders swap altcoins for oil and gold derivatives, is crypto’s speculative era over?
Is the crypto market’s future not new coins, but becoming a 24/7 Wall Street?