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Crypto market rattled by $400 million liquidations as bitcoin dips to $68,000: Crypto Markets Today

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Crypto market rattled by $400 million liquidations as bitcoin dips to $68,000: Crypto Markets Today

Bitcoin is trading near $68,250, returning to a price range that dates back to early February after multiple failed attempts to convincingly surpass $75,000.

The most recent selloff occurred on Saturday, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless the country opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

The weekend price action led to a CME gap — the difference between the price of bitcoin when futures on the exchange end the week on Friday and when they resume trading on Sunday evening. That gap would be filled if bitcoin recovers to $70,000 on Monday.

Gold and silver took another leg down on Monday with January’s record highs now seemingly confirmed as a result of speculative mania rather than a genuine safe-haven move.

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In contrast, the Dollar Index (DXY) is back trading above 100, buoyed by inflation fears and a halt to the Fed’s interest-rate-cutting cycle.

The altcoin market has underperformed bitcoin since midnight UTC, with decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens ETHFI, HYPE and SKY losing around 3% while BTC is in the black after falling on Saturday and Sunday.

Derivatives positioning

  • Over $400 million worth of leveraged crypto futures bets have been liquidated in the past 24 hours. More than $280 million were longs, the most since Feb. 25, a sign bullish bets have taken a sizeable hit due to bitcoin’s Sunday drop.
  • Open interest (OI) in futures tied to gold token PAXG has increased 4% in 24 hours as investors pulled capital from futures on major cryptocurrencies, including BTC. Ether’s OI increased by just under 1%.
  • On decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, Brent crude, WTI crude, gold and silver perpetuals rank among the top 10 perpetual contracts by open interest, surpassing major tokens such as XRP. Volume profiles show a similar bias for traditional commodities.
  • Funding rates paint a mixed picture of the market sentiment. Traders seem to be chasing bearish exposure in tokens such as XRP, BNB, SOL, TRX, DOGE and ADA, as evidenced by their negative funding rates. Meanwhile, rates for BTC, BCH, HYPe, XMR, and LINK remain positive, indicating strong sentiment.
  • BCH and LINK also boast a positive 24-hour cumulative volume delta. This, coupled with positive funding rates, points to sustained net buying pressure, with leveraged traders positioning for further upside in both tokens.
  • BTC’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, has bounced to 60% from 53% on Wednesday, indicating renewed uncertainty and fear as the Iran war drags on and major banks point to a sustained oil price rally ahead.
  • Ether’s volatility index, EVIV, jumped to 84% on Sunday, the highest since early February.
  • On Deribit, BTC put options are priced at a premium of eight volatility points to call options out to the June-end expiry. This indicates a strong demand for hedging against potential price declines.
  • Block flows featured an outsized demand for BTC put spreads, a bearish strategy and ETH straddles, a bet on volatility.

Token talk

  • CoinDesk’s DeFi Select Index (DFX) is the worst-performing benchmark on Monday, losing 0.75% since midnight UTC, while the CDMEME and SCPXC are down by around 0.4%
  • Privacy tokens bucked the bearish trend, with DASH, NIGHT, and XMR all rising by 3% to 5% over the past 24 hours. The sector performed well at the tail end of 2025, buoyed by improving sentiment around anonymous transactions and improved regulatory clarity.
  • CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” index is at 49/100, receding slightly from last week’s high of 53, but substantially higher than last month, when it dipped to 22.
  • One reason to be optimistic is the average relative strength index (RSI), which is currently in “oversold” territory, suggesting a bounce for several altcoins could be on the cards this week.

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Crypto World

Bitcoin Spot Volumes Drop To 2023 Lows as Rallies Lack Spot Conviction

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Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin Futures, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis

Bitcoin (BTC) spot volumes on Binance have dropped to their lowest level since September 2023, indicating that the current intraday price rise may not be backed by strong demand.

The rally above $71,700 on Monday appears to be driven mainly by news headlines and liquidations in the Bitcoin futures markets.

Binance volumes and exchange flows signal the demand gap for BTC

Crypto analyst Darkfost said that March is on track to record the lowest Binance spot volume since Q3 2023, at roughly $52 billion, compared to the $88 billion recorded in September 2023. The activity levels align with the prior bear market conditions, pointing to the reduced participation.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin Futures, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis
BTC spot trading volume. Source: CryptoQuant

The exchange flow data shows a similar slowdown. Crypto analyst Arab Chain reported $6.38 billion in seven-day cumulative flows on Binance and $5.14 billion on Coinbase. The Binance flows have dropped to the lowest level since 2024, indicating reduced deposit activity.

However, the lower inflows may also coincide with a reduced supply to sell, as fewer coins move onto the exchanges. The Coinbase flows remain relatively stable, reflecting the steadier participation from the long-term investors.

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The large-holder activity added another layer. Market analyst Gaah identified a record surge in the whale inflow momentum, which tracks the rate of change in large transfers to the exchanges.

The current reading of 74.3 surpasses all prior cycle peaks over the past 11 years, with a higher level last recorded at 124.6 in 2015. 

The elevated inflow velocity signals an aggressive capital rotation and hedging, increasing BTC’s sensitivity to short-term volatility over the next few weeks.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin Futures, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis
Bitcoin momentum whale inflow ratio. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: Bitcoin rebounds to $71K as oil drops after Trump signals pause on Iran strikes

Bitcoin liquidation activity shows traders lack conviction

The BTC rally followed reports that President Trump had deferred the planned US strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days after citing progress in the diplomatic discussions, a claim later rejected by Iran’s foreign ministry, which denied that any talks had taken place.

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BTC still pushed to a weekly high of $71,789 on Binance during the US market session, driven by the above external catalyst rather than by spot demand or futures positioning, leading the move.

Data shows the rally coincided with a reduction in leverage. The aggregated open interest declined by about 9,700 BTC, marking a 4% drop over 13 hours.

The open interest tracks the total number of active futures contracts, and the decline during a price increase signals that the positions were being closed rather than new ones being opened.

BTC/USDT price, aggregated open interest, liquidation, and Coinbase premium. Source: velo.data

This type of move typically occurs when short positions are forced out of the market, reducing the total exposure while pushing the price higher. Binance recorded over $44 million in short liquidations within one hour, the largest since the one-hour long liquidations of $53 million on Feb. 6.

The Coinbase premium (in percentage terms) remained negative during the move, indicating limited spot demand from US participants.

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The falling open interest, high liquidations, and weak premiums suggest the move higher was driven by positions being closed rather than new money entering the market, with most of the activity clustered around the $71,000–$72,000 range.

Related: Gold slides as traders eye sub-$50K BTC: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week