According to ChainCatcher monitoring, the crypto derivatives market experienced a wave of forced liquidations over the past 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching approximately $1 billion. Ethereum liquidations surpassed those of Bitcoin, indicating that leveraged long positions in ETH faced greater pressure during the downturn. Bitcoin futures open interest rose for the second consecutive day to 778,000 BTC. The sharp increase in open interest late Thursday suggests that Bitcoin traders were aggressively adding short positions amid the decline.
Divergence in Bitcoin vs. Ethereum Positioning
In contrast to rising Bitcoin open interest, Ethereum open interest has remained relatively stable at around 14 million ETH since June 15. This implies that Ethereum traders did not actively engage in shorting during the sell-off, and their positioning structure remained flat. The adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) over the past 24 hours reveals that short sellers dominated among the top 25 crypto tokens, with only BNB, SOL, and TON showing exceptions where longs pushed back.
Volatility and Options Market Signals
On the volatility front, Bitcoin's 30-day annualized implied volatility index jumped to 53%, the highest level since June 7. Ethereum's implied volatility index climbed to 66%, also at a recent peak. Elevated volatility environments often coincide with market panic and sharp price swings. Options market data reinforces this sentiment: Bitcoin options skew approached 30% last week, indicating a significant premium on put options relative to calls. Notably, large block options trades included a Bitcoin put option with a strike price of $53,000 expiring on July 10, reflecting strong institutional demand for downside protection.