Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 during the Asian session, marking its lowest level in five days. The move came shortly after BTC printed a local high of $91,570 within 24 hours, then reversed sharply. Repeated failures at key resistance through December, combined with deeper losses across altcoins and thin liquidity, left the broader crypto market with clearly weaker risk appetite.
Another rejection above $94,500 keeps Bitcoin in range
Since the start of last month, Bitcoin has now failed for the third time to break through $94,500. The latest pullback fits the price pattern seen over the past six weeks, keeping BTC inside an $85,000 to $94,500 trading band. The report describes that area as a relative equilibrium zone after a steep correction from the record $126,220 reached on October 6 to $80,600 on November 21.
Macro conditions added pressure. US equity futures weakened, while the dollar index gained more than 1% since December 24. Intraday losses in Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures suggested the selling in crypto was tied to broader market conditions rather than crypto-specific factors alone. A stronger dollar also put extra strain on leveraged positions, increasing volatility.
Altcoins underperform as low volume magnifies losses
Altcoins saw steeper declines in a low-volume market. Privacy coin Zcash lost more than 16% from midnight to the morning, while PUMP and DASH posted double-digit drops. The DeFi index and memecoin index both lagged the wider market, pointing to capital moving away from more speculative segments.
More than $400 million liquidated in 24 hours
In derivatives, liquidations topped $400 million over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for most of the damage. Total open interest fell from a peak above $141 billion to $140 billion. Bitcoin futures open interest edged higher and funding rates stayed positive, showing that some traders were still looking to buy the dip. At the same time, falling open interest in ETH, SOL, XRP, ZEC, and SUI contracts confirmed capital outflows from altcoins.
Options data showed that short-term downside fears had eased somewhat, but put options continued to trade at a premium, keeping a defensive tone in place. The report also linked current liquidity weakness to the $19 billion derivatives wipeout at the start of October, which made isolated large orders more capable of moving prices. In Zcash, a $12 million long liquidation hit a shallow order book and worsened the decline relative to the broader market.