Bitcoin came under renewed selling pressure, falling roughly 2 percent over the past 24 hours as broader crypto markets weakened. The largest digital asset hovered near the 67,000 dollar level after briefly touching 70,000 dollars earlier in the week, signaling fading bullish momentum.
Major cryptocurrencies followed the pullback. Ether, XRP and solana registered similar percentage declines, while the CoinDesk 20 Index also moved lower. The retreat reflects a cautious tone among traders, with derivatives positioning indicating increased demand for downside protection.
Data from crypto derivatives platforms show investors accumulating put options, particularly at the 60,000 dollar strike with expiries ranging from six to twelve months. This positioning suggests that institutional participants, including exchange traded fund holders and corporate treasuries, are hedging against potential price declines rather than aggressively adding exposure.
Open interest across crypto futures markets has fallen to approximately 93.5 billion dollars, near multi month lows. The drop indicates that the optimism sparked by bitcoin’s midweek rebound has not translated into sustained leveraged positioning. Notional open interest in bitcoin and ether futures has declined faster than spot prices, pointing to capital outflows from derivative markets.
Perpetual funding rates for large cap tokens have turned negative again, signaling a dominance of bearish positioning. Market wide long short ratios also show increased short interest. On Deribit, one month bitcoin put options continue to trade at a premium to calls, underscoring lingering concerns about further downside.
While major tokens struggled, select altcoins bucked the trend. Decred extended gains, rising 16 percent over 24 hours to trade near 34.58 dollars, its highest level since November. The token has gained more than 80 percent over the past four weeks, driven in part by a February treasury rule change designed to strengthen its decentralized governance model.
Artificial intelligence linked tokens also attracted renewed attention. Internet Computer, render and bittensor recorded gains as investor sentiment toward AI infrastructure improved following strong earnings results from Nvidia. Internet Computer’s foundation recently proposed burning 20 percent of its cloud engine revenue, introducing a deflationary mechanism tied to network usage. The remaining revenue would be allocated to node operators under a performance based structure.
Internet Computer’s price rose approximately 6 percent over the past day, reflecting both the tokenomics proposal and broader enthusiasm surrounding AI developments. Nvidia’s earnings reinforced confidence in continued growth for artificial intelligence technologies, indirectly supporting blockchain projects positioned as decentralized infrastructure alternatives.
Analysts caution that market conditions remain fragile. Some recommend staggered accumulation strategies near key support levels rather than large single entries, as volatility and macro uncertainty continue to influence digital asset flows.
