Negative funding rates and rising short positioning in crypto derivatives suggest traders expect further declines despite bitcoin’s fragile support.
Bitcoin clung to $62,357.66 early Wednesday, failing to rebound despite a partial recovery in U.S. equity futures, as bearish derivatives positioning weighed on sentiment. Open interest in ETH and SOL futures rose while prices fell, and negative funding rates indicated fresh short bets, according to market data.
Trading volume in crypto derivatives dropped 27% to $141 billion over the past 24 hours, while open interest edged up 2% to $106 billion. The CoinDesk 20 Index slid 0.9%, with 18 of its 20 constituents in the red, though select altcoins like Jupiter and Monero posted modest gains.
Analysts warn that a break below $60,000 could trigger a drop toward $52,000, a level not tested since late 2024. The lack of a meaningful bounce remains the market’s primary concern, with put-call skew on Deribit favoring downside protection.