Following the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rates, Chair Kevin Warsh emphasized that inflation remains a greater concern for the U.S. central bank than economic growth.
By Omkar Godbole, Shaurya Malwa|Edited by Sheldon Reback Jun 18, 2026, 10:56 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Crypto markets weakened following the Fed press conference. (Austin Distel/Unsplash)SummaryShow- Crypto markets experienced a downturn after the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance on interest rates.
- Data from derivatives indicates a risk-averse positioning with a prevalence of bearish sentiment, as traders seek protection against potential losses.
The cryptocurrency market saw a decline following the Federal Reserve's announcement suggesting that U.S. interest rates might continue to rise.
Bitcoin BTC$64,036.00, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, traded around $63,900, reflecting a drop of over 1% in the last 24 hours. Other prominent cryptocurrencies, such as XRP (XRP), ether (ETH), BNB coin BNB$589.91, and solana (SOL), reported similar declines.
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) decreased by more than 1.2% during the same timeframe. The DeFi Select Index (DFX) saw a significant drop of 5%, marking the largest decline among all CoinDesk benchmarks.
Nevertheless, some tokens showed resilience. Provenance Blockchain’s HASH token rose by 15%, while Stellar’s lumen (XLM) gained nearly 10%.
Marex analysts noted, "Market sentiment appears depleted, with the fear index dipping into extreme fear territory, and BTC is currently about 48% below its October peak of $126k. This could be contrarian fuel for those with patience, but it clearly indicates that market positioning is cautious and conviction is low."
Derivatives Positioning
- In the past 24 hours, over $440 million worth of crypto futures contracts have been liquidated across exchanges, predominantly from bullish long positions, suggesting traders anticipated a recovery following the Fed's interest rate decision.
- BTC’s futures open interest (OI) has decreased to 730K BTC from a high of 742K BTC observed on Tuesday, reflecting a shift towards risk aversion. This trend is similarly seen in ether's OI.
- XRP’s OI remains at 2.30 billion tokens, the highest since October, surpassing the previous peak of 2.29 billion tokens. However, this is not necessarily a bullish indicator since both perpetual funding rates and the 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) are negative, indicating a bearish market environment.
- Most of the top 25 cryptocurrencies, with the exception of TRX and SOL, displayed negative 24-hour CVD, indicating that bearish traders are aggressively executing market orders rather than placing passive limit orders.
- Amid this environment, the annualized 30-day implied volatility indexes for bitcoin and ether remain stable. Bitcoin’s BVIV index is around 41%, having reversed from an early-month spike to nearly 59%.
- In the options market, data from Laevitas shows a rise in demand for put options expiring on June 21, indicating that traders are looking for protection against downside volatility as the weekend approaches.
Token Insights
- Hyperliquid's token has seen significant gains, yet its application layer has not. HYPE has surged 34% over the week, and its core perpetuals exchange is achieving record volumes, though HyperEVM, its general-purpose layer aimed at attracting developers, has not yet produced a standout application.
- Criticism within the Hyperliquid community suggests that development has stalled, with some projects shutting down or losing momentum, leading to concentration of activity among a few developers.
- Data supports this observation, as HyperEVM holds approximately $1.5 billion in total value locked (TVL), while the core exchange exceeds $5 billion in daily volume. Despite over 175 teams deploying, few have gained significant traction.
- The existing traction is concentrated, with Unit being the primary deployer of HIP-3 markets, Hyperliquid's system for listing new perpetuals, and Kinetiq leading in liquid staking. Relying on a limited number of developers poses risks if either withdraws their support.
- Structural disincentives appear to be a factor, as builders may be reluctant to innovate, fearing that successful ideas may simply be replicated by Hyperliquid itself, and potential apps may not incentivize early users with airdrops, providing little reason for traders to commit capital there.
- The tension lies in Hyperliquid's assertion that attracting builders is crucial. Although its token and trading engine are among the strongest in the crypto space, the layer intended to expand the ecosystem has yet to achieve a breakout comparable to what Solana or Ethereum have experienced.
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CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High
CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
By CoinDesk ResearchJun 15, 2026In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
Why it matters:
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
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