BTC has pulled back from its recent peak of $64,500, with decreasing open interest and lackluster spot demand raising concerns about the durability of July's 8.4% rise.
By Oliver Knight, Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback Jul 7, 2026, 10:44 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Bitcoin price (CoinDesk Data)SummaryShow- Bitcoin has dropped from a two-week peak of $64,500, as decreasing open interest, weak ETF inflows, and a negative Coinbase premium raise doubts about the rally's sustainability.
- Short positions were heavily targeted, resulting in over $500 million in liquidated leveraged bets within 24 hours, indicating that the gains from July were largely due to a short-squeeze rather than substantial bullish sentiment.
- The altcoin market is showing mixed results, with ETHFI and LIT gaining more than 30% in the past week, while FET, KASPA, and WLD experienced losses, a trend that CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season indicator only partially reflects.
Bitcoin BTC$63,176.00 experienced its first decline of the month on Tuesday, interrupting a winning streak that had persisted since March. It reached $64,500 on Monday, marking its highest value in over two weeks.
Ether (ETH) followed suit, falling to $1,770 after peaking at $1,830 on Monday.
The recovery in July is linked to a short-squeeze scenario identified at the end of June, which occurred while bitcoin was trading at its lowest levels since 2024.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies took advantage of a disparity in short positions, rebounding from oversold conditions to register daily gains since the beginning of the month.
The overall cryptocurrency market has risen by 8.4% since July 1, bringing its total value to $2.16 trillion.
U.S. stock indices fell in pre-market trading on Tuesday, with Nasdaq 100 index futures down 0.9% since midnight UTC, continuing the decline from the record highs observed in June.
Derivatives Market Analysis
- In a 24-hour period, exchanges liquidated more than $500 million in leveraged crypto futures, with bearish positions making up the majority of this figure for the sixth consecutive day.
- Despite recent price increases, Bitcoin's futures open interest (OI) has decreased to 740K BTC, down from a high of 776K BTC on July 3, indicating a lack of participation from derivative traders in the price increase, coupled with ongoing weak spot demand evidenced by ETF flows and the Coinbase premium. This situation raises questions about the potential longevity of the price gains.
- The same trend applies to ether (ETH), which had recently outperformed BTC.
- Open interest in SOL has dropped to 68 million tokens from over 76 million on June 24, reflecting similar sentiments. The token's 10% increase has not yet sparked demand for leveraged trading.
- Canton Network's CC token has seen a decline of over 4% in 24 hours, despite a 3% rise in futures OI to 245.59 million tokens. This, along with negative funding rates and a 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta, suggests a growing bearish sentiment.
- Many tokens are currently exhibiting a negative OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta, indicating an aggressive bearish approach, with traders opting for market orders rather than passive limit orders. This could signal potential losses ahead.
- Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, has risen to 40%, breaking a six-day downward trend. However, this figure remains significantly below January's peak of nearly 60%, which is a positive indicator for crypto bulls. The same is true for ether's implied volatility index, EVIV.
- On Deribit, options trading continues to reveal lingering downside concerns for both bitcoin and ether. The options volume for BTC presents a mixed outlook, with both calls and puts among the most traded options in the last 24 hours.
- On decentralized exchange Derive, a substantial long call condor strategy on HYPE has emerged, signaling expectations for price movements between $75 and $80 until July 24.
Altcoin Market Dynamics
- The altcoin sector is displaying contradictory trends. While tokens like FET, KASPA, and WLD have seen losses amid a broader market recovery this week, ETHFI and LIT have excelled, gaining more than 30% in the last seven days.
- WLFI$0.06039 was among the top performers on Tuesday, rising by 4.8%. However, it's crucial to note that this token, associated with President Donald Trump's family, has fallen over 89% since its inception last August.
- The divergence in altcoin performance indicates a maturation of the market, with token values increasingly influenced by sentiment and on-chain activity, contrasting with the historical tendency for the entire altcoin market to move together.
- CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season indicator currently sits at 46/100, down from Friday's peak but an improvement over May's consistent level around 30/100.
- 1Binance taps into Bitcoin holders’ hunger for yield with new covered call yield play2 hours ago
- 2Bitcoin's recent macro relief faces a challenge from Japanese interest rates3 hours ago
- 3Live markets: Bitcoin and ether ETFs drew inflows on Monday4 hours ago
- 4BONK faces $20 million treasury drain after attacker spends $4 million to pass malicious proposal5 hours ago
- 5XRP stalls near $1.14 as breakout attempt struggles for volume6 hours ago
- 6Bitcoin drops after a run at $64,000, shrugging off Strategy's $213 million BTC sale6 hours ago
- 7Bitcoin's U.S. reserve still a work-in-progress as federal agencies hash it out13 hours ago
- 8Circle’s USDC is leaving Tether behind in the stablecoin volume race, new data from Visa shows19 hours ago
- 9Strategy selling hundreds of millions worth of bitcoin raises question about its capital-allocation playbook19 hours ago
- 10Ethereum developers embrace Vitalik Buterin's long-term vision but urge quicker execution19 hours ago
Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and evaluate the effectiveness of its funding, security, and governance.
By CoinDesk ResearchJun 30, 2026Commissioned byGenZcashZcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and evaluate the effectiveness of its funding, security, and governance.
Why it matters:
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and evaluate the effectiveness of its funding, security, and governance.
View Full ReportMore From Markets