Bitcoin steadies above $60,000 as derivatives warn of bearish pressure
Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded after a sharp selloff, dipping to about $61,300 before trading near $62,500. The move triggered heavy liquidations: roughly $3 billion wiped out over two days, including about $750M in Bitcoin and $390M in Ether.
Derivatives remain firmly bearish. Open interest fell 8.5% to $111.4B, suggesting leverage is being unwound rather than new bullish positions added. Bitcoin open interest dropped back from record highs above 800,000 BTC, consistent with long flush-out but limited new directional buying.
Options positioning also leans downside. Put skews strengthened for both Bitcoin and Ether, and the $60,000 BTC put on Deribit has over $1B in notional open interest. As spot approaches that strike, traders may adjust positions—potentially adding volatility. Implied volatility for Bitcoin and Ether has risen over three sessions, pointing to higher demand for hedging.
A notable exception is Solana (SOL): its open interest hit a record 72.16M tokens even as price fell, typically signaling aggressive short accumulation. Related underperformance in altcoins (eg, NEAR, ZEC, JUP down 13%+) highlights liquidity fragility, so a break of the $60,000 Bitcoin level could extend liquidations and weigh more on weaker pairs.
Bearish
This is bearish because Bitcoin’s selloff was accompanied by clear derivatives stress signals. The $3B liquidation over two days and the 8.5% fall in open interest point to leverage being removed rather than replaced with new longs. The most actionable part for traders is the options structure: put skews strengthened for Bitcoin and Ether, and the $60,000 BTC put on Deribit holds over $1B notional. When price approaches a heavily positioned downside strike, traders often rebalance hedges and positions, which can amplify volatility and keep downside risk elevated.
The Solana exception (SOL open interest at a record level while price falls) suggests aggressive short accumulation in that market, reinforcing a broader “risk-off / short preference” tone rather than a clean stabilization.
Short term, expect choppy action around $60,000 with volatility elevated (implied vol rising). Liquidity in many altcoin pairs is thinner, so additional Bitcoin weakness could cause cascading liquidations and sharper altcoin drawdowns. Long term, if Bitcoin can hold above $60,000 and open interest stops falling, the liquidation-driven down move may consolidate; but given the current derivatives skew, rallies could face selling/hedging pressure until positioning resets—similar to past leverage-wipeout phases where downside attempts repeatedly meet hedges before a sustained reversal appears.