Traders are showing a preference for downside protection as Bitcoin options and gold futures indicate a potential for further declines.
By Oliver Knight, Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback Jul 1, 2026, 10:47 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Bitcoin price (CoinDesk)SummaryShow- Bitcoin's price fell to $57,700, marking its lowest level since September 2024, before rebounding to $58,800. The market saw $395 million in liquidations, with bearish traders remaining dominant despite an increase in open interest to 768,000 BTC.
- On Deribit, puts are being traded at higher prices than calls across various timeframes, particularly a notable trade for a $50,000 BTC put expiring in September, indicating some traders foresee a potential 15% drop by the end of Q3.
- Jupiter (JUP) surged by 11.5% on a 55% rise in trading volume, with its total value locked (TVL) increasing from 13.9 million to over 20 million SOL, while stellar (XLM) continued its weekly ascent to 16%, keeping CoinMarketCap's altcoin season index at 48/100.
Bitcoin BTC$58,580.68 saw a marginal increase of 0.3%, reaching $58,700 on Wednesday, recovering slightly from a drop to $57,700, the lowest since September 2024, early in the day UTC.
Ether (ETH) is currently priced at $1,580, having also bounced back since 01:00 UTC.
U.S. equity index futures have dipped since midnight UTC, with both S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures down by 0.2%-0.4%.
Recent weeks have seen risk assets such as cryptocurrencies and tech stocks under pressure due to rising inflation fears, which have bolstered the U.S. dollar and made traders more cautious.
The altcoin sector has suffered the most, lacking the liquidity and demand necessary to withstand sharp declines and liquidation events.
Derivatives Market Insights
- In the last 24 hours, $395 million worth of crypto futures positions were liquidated, predominantly comprised of bullish bets, correlating with Bitcoin's drop below $58,000.
- Interestingly, crude futures on crypto exchanges faced $15 million in liquidations, signifying the growing popularity of traditional finance trading on these platforms.
- Bitcoin's futures open interest (OI) increased to 768K BTC from 740K BTC the previous day. While this influx of capital is encouraging, it remains uncertain whether the sentiment is predominantly bullish or bearish. The annualized funding rates are around 5%, indicating a bullish tilt, yet the 24-hour cumulative volume delta is negative, suggesting a more aggressive bearish stance among traders.
- Gold perpetual futures OI reached a record 222K XAU tokens, coinciding with a bearish death cross in gold's spot price, highlighted by the 50-day simple moving average crossing below the 200-day SMA. Major gold ETFs are also exhibiting a similar bearish trend.
- Bitcoin and ether's 30-day implied volatility indexes remain stable after gains in June. Bitcoin's volatility index, BVIV, is caught between the 200-day average acting as resistance and the 50-day average serving as support. A breakout above the 200-day MA could lead to increased volatility and a deeper price decline.
- On Deribit, the demand for Bitcoin and ether puts remains higher than calls across all timeframes, as traders seek to hedge against potential downturns.
- Notable flows from the over-the-counter desk Paradigm included interest in the September expiry Bitcoin put at the $50K strike, indicating a bet on prices dropping below $50K by the end of Q3. In contrast, a SOL call option at the $86 strike was also exercised, with the token currently trading around $75.
Token Performance Overview
- Despite the overall struggle in the altcoin market, Solana-based DeFi token Jupiter (JUP) has reversed its trend, climbing 11% since midnight UTC, with daily trading volume increasing by 55%.
- This uptick coincides with a rise in total value locked (TVL) in the protocol, a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, which has grown to over 20 million SOL from 13.9 million in May.
- Stellar lumens (XLM) has also seen gains, rising from $0.168 on Sunday to $0.196, a 17% increase.
- The solid performance of a few altcoins has kept CoinMarketCap's "Altcoin Season" index around 48/100, despite a generally weak market at the end of June.
- In contrast, AI tokens have been hit hard, with Bittensor (TAO) dropping 2.5% on Wednesday and down over 30% since June 15.
- 1Aave logs biggest network-growth day in nearly 5 years as DeFi interest returns39 minutes ago
- 2Bitcoin’s 20% June crash looks even deadlier on the charts. Here’s why3 hours ago
- 3Live markets: U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs had their worst month ever in June, shedding $4.5 billion3 hours ago
- 4Anthropic restores AI models Fable, Mythos after the U.S. lifts export controls4 hours ago
- 5Why Poland is the only EU country where crypto firms can't get a MiCA license4 hours ago
- 6XRP holds above $1 after leverage flush as network activity improves5 hours ago
- 7Taiwan’s sweeping crypto law raises the bar with licensing, reserve mandates, and tough penalties5 hours ago
- 8U.S. senators seek to block foreign adversaries from AI technology in new bill11 hours ago
- 9Trump pocketed more than $1 billion from crypto ties as industry headed toward slump12 hours ago
- 10Phantom doubles down on perpetual futures with hire of Hyperliquid market builders14 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 test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
By CoinDesk ResearchJun 30, 2026Commissioned byGenZcashZcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Why it matters:
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
View Full ReportMore From Markets