BTC is currently trading within a range of $64,000 to $66,800 after rebounding 13% from its July lows, amidst a macroeconomic landscape providing minimal direction and WLFI emerging as the session's unexpected highlight with a +12% increase.
By Oliver Knight, Omkar Godbole|Edited by Jamie Crawley Jul 23, 2026, 10:26 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Bitcoin price (CoinDesk)SummaryShow- For the third straight session, Bitcoin has remained within the $64,000 to $66,800 range, having increased over 13% from its low of $57,750 on July 1. The recent inability to decisively surpass $66,000 suggests that the market may require a new catalyst for its next move.
- Conventional markets are not providing much assistance, with both Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures declining approximately 0.3%. Additionally, gold and silver are retreating after a rally, and the DXY index remains flat, leaving the crypto space in a state of indecision.
- WLFI led the day with a notable 12.18% surge, while Morpho gained 4%, and Lighter continued its downward trend for a third session as profit-taking pressures the token after its significant 200% increase from May to early July.
The cryptocurrency market is consolidating on Thursday, with Bitcoin BTC$65,696.15 showing a slight decline of 0.62% since midnight UTC, currently priced at $65,674. It has been fluctuating between $64,000 and $66,800 for the past week.
This price movement indicates a market pause. Bitcoin has experienced a recovery of over 13% since its July 1 low of $57,750, and after failing to break through the $66,000 resistance convincingly on Tuesday, the most likely short-term trend appears to be sideways.
Traditional markets are not providing clear guidance. Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures are both down around 0.3%, the dollar index is stable, and both gold and silver are retreating following a previous safe-haven rally, leaving the crypto sector without a strong macroeconomic influence.
Derivatives positioning
- Period of stasis: The crypto futures market is currently in a state of stability, with 24-hour trading volumes only 1% lower at $147 billion, and open interest remaining steady at around $111 billion. The long-short ratio is nearly balanced, indicating that traders are lacking strong directional convictions.
- Open interest shifts in major assets: Bitcoin's futures open interest has decreased to 743K BTC from earlier highs exceeding 760K BTC. This decline suggests that existing positions are being unwound as the price rally stalls. A positive aspect for bulls is that this drop appears to stem from long liquidations rather than new short positions betting on further declines. Conversely, ETH's open interest has increased during the price drop, indicating active buying from market orders instead of passive limit orders, as seen in ETH’s positive 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD).
- Mixed sentiment in altcoins: The broader market is experiencing a divide in aggressive leadership. While several coins like ZEC, HBAR, LTC, AVAX, and SUI are showing positive CVDs, indicating buyer pressure, others such as BTC, XLM, DOGE, and SHIB display negative CVDs, suggesting ongoing selling pressure in those markets.
- Rising volatility signals potential caution: Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, has increased for the fifth consecutive day. Traders should monitor this metric closely, as a rise in BVIV has historically indicated potential price drops following the introduction of spot ETFs. In contrast, ether’s volatility index, EVIV, remains relatively stable.
- Options flows and evaporating fear: Demand for the BTC $70,000 call option expiring on August 7 was notable on the Deribit exchange and the OTC desk Paradigm. While some traders are preparing for upward movement, others are simultaneously acquiring longer-duration puts as a hedge against downside risks. Additionally, there has been a general demand for upside exposure in Ethereum options. Overall, market fear appears to be diminishing as put-call skews for both BTC and ETH trend towards zero, with ETH’s one-week skew briefly turning negative yesterday, indicating a temporary bullish sentiment shift.
Token talk
- WLFI$0.06409 was the top mover on Thursday, increasing 12.18% to $0.063. The token associated with the Trump family has now reached a market cap of $2 billion, although it remains significantly below its all-time high.
- MORPHO$1.9860 continued its upward trend, rising nearly 4% to $1.989, remaining one of the more consistent AI performers over the past two weeks.
- Ethena (ENA) gained 2% to $0.092, continuing its gradual recovery and outperforming many DeFi counterparts over the last week despite being over 90% below its peak in September 2025.
- Lighter (LIT) fell 2.96% as profit-taking continues to pressure the token for a third consecutive session following its substantial rally exceeding 200% between May and early July.
- CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season indicator remains at 51/100 as the market anticipates Bitcoin's next decisive move.
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Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation
Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation
Markets have shifted since June, with Binance maintaining significant market share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and experiencing net inflows in early July, while the broader tracked market faced outflows.
By CoinDesk Research20 hours agoMarkets have shifted since June, with Binance maintaining significant market share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and experiencing net inflows in early July, while the broader tracked market faced outflows.
Why it matters:
Markets have shifted since June, with Binance maintaining significant market share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and experiencing net inflows in early July, while the broader tracked market faced outflows.
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