Crypto World
Coinbase (COIN) Stock Secures Preliminary Federal Trust Charter Approval from OCC
Key Takeaways
- The OCC has granted Coinbase conditional authorization to establish a federally chartered trust entity
- This charter is limited to custody operations and market infrastructure, excluding retail deposits and traditional banking
- Final approval hinges on Coinbase completing multiple regulatory and administrative requirements
- The federal designation is anticipated to expand Coinbase’s reach among institutional investors
- Coinbase’s current New York state trust charter and BitLicense continue operating without interruption
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued conditional authorization for Coinbase (COIN) to launch Coinbase National Trust Company, a federally chartered trust institution.
This OCC charter is tailored exclusively for custody operations and market infrastructure services. The crypto exchange will not accept consumer deposits or function as a conventional fractional reserve banking institution under this authorization.
According to Greg Tusar, Co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, the clearance provides “federal regulatory uniformity to the custody and market infrastructure business we have been building for years.”
Coinbase filed its national trust charter application with the OCC in October of last year. The platform currently operates under a limited-purpose trust charter issued by the New York Department of Financial Services, which authorizes digital asset custody services at the state level through Coinbase Prime, its institutional division.
The federal charter represents a significant upgrade. “We’re the custodian to over 80% of the world’s digital asset ETFs, but there are a number of other asset managers and hedge funds and others that would like to see the entity that they face have this kind of charter,” Tusar explained.
Essentially, the OCC certification unlocks opportunities that state-level authorization alone cannot provide.
Coinbase’s institutional division reported $245.7 billion in assets under custody as of June 2025 — representing approximately 7% of the entire cryptocurrency market, based on figures from its charter filing.
Outstanding Requirements for Final Approval
Conditional authorization differs from full approval. Before the charter becomes operational, Coinbase must convene its inaugural board meeting, implement corporate bylaws, set up payment infrastructure, and successfully complete a pre-launch examination by the OCC.
The company has committed to collaborating closely with OCC regulators to satisfy all outstanding conditions.
Meanwhile, Coinbase’s existing New York BitLicense and state-level trust charter remain active and unchanged. Coinbase, Inc. continues its operations under NYDFS supervision without disruption.
Other Applicants Pursuing Federal Charters
Coinbase isn’t the only crypto firm seeking this regulatory status. The OCC granted conditional approvals to multiple digital asset companies late last year, including BitGo, Circle Internet Group, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple, and Paxos.
Additionally, EDX Markets — backed by Morgan Stanley and Citadel Securities — along with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s most significant cryptocurrency initiative, have submitted national trust charter applications.
The federal charter also establishes infrastructure for emerging payment solutions and complementary financial services, targeting both institutional partners and retail users as primary beneficiaries.
While Congress has moved forward with market structure legislation, federal supervision of crypto custody providers has remained inconsistent. This OCC approval fills that regulatory void for institutional services without requiring completed legislative action.
Crypto World
Ethereum Price Prediction: Pepeto Raises Above $8.1M While ETH Drops Below $2,100 and SOL Faces Pressure
Google just warned that quantum computers could crack Bitcoin’s encryption in roughly nine minutes, a finding that rattled the crypto market this week. Ethereum and Solana are both losing ground for different reasons, and the ethereum price prediction shows limited recovery while traders weigh growing risks.
The real question is where smart money goes while the large caps stall. Pepeto has raised above $8.1M in presale, the Binance listing is approaching, and the entry available now is the asymmetric chance that large cap yields will never produce.
Google’s Quantum AI team published research showing that cracking crypto’s core encryption could need fewer than 500,000 qubits, far below earlier estimates, according to Bloomberg.
CoinDesk reported that roughly 6.9 million Bitcoin sit in wallets where public keys are already exposed. The findings do not mean an attack is imminent, but they tighten the timeline enough to change how traders think about where to put capital.
Top 3 Cryptocurrencies Amidst the Ethereum Price Prediction
Pepeto
Google just proved that quantum threats are closer than anyone assumed, and the traders paying attention are repositioning now. Most will stay frozen, waiting for large caps to recover. The ones looking at Pepeto see what has not been priced in yet.
That is the difference that separates early movers from everyone else. Most people who missed the early stages of the biggest crypto runs did not have the right tools when it mattered, and by the time a breakout became obvious the entry that counted was gone.
Pepeto exists to close that gap. The cross chain bridge moves your holdings between blockchains so you are never trapped on one network when the opportunity lives on another. The zero fee swap engine trades any token pair across every major chain at zero cost, which means your position never gets eaten by fees while you try to grow it.
While the ethereum price prediction keeps pointing to limited recovery, Pepeto’s exchange tools are already live and working from entry to exit. The mind who built the first Pepe token is part of the dev team, and a former Binance expert leads alongside. At $0.000000186, the presale price is a fraction of what any buyer will pay once the Binance listing opens. A $25,000 position earns 189% APY through staking, putting $49,000 in yearly returns into your wallet just for holding while the listing approaches.
That is the kind of return no large cap can produce from its current level. The presale is filling with serious capital, the Binance listing date is not moving backward, and the wallets that are not inside yet are running out of runway.
Ethereum
Ethereum is trading near $2,054 after a brief climb to $2,200 failed to hold, and the token remains down nearly 50% from its record high according to CoinMarketCap.
The Glamsterdam upgrade expected in June is the main catalyst, but derivatives still show heavy leverage that could trigger sharp moves. Even a push back to $2,400 delivers a modest return compared to the entries presale wallets are collecting before listing day.
Solana
Solana dropped to $79 after the Drift Protocol exploit drained $285 million from the network’s largest DeFi exchange according to Bloomberg.
SOL recovered slightly but the damage to confidence is fresh. Even a reclaim of $100 delivers less than 20% from here, which barely registers against the kind of early entry presale tokens offer before they hit the open market.
The Bottom Line
The ethereum price prediction turned cautious after ETH failed to hold $2,200 and Solana took a direct hit from the Drift exploit. Even the Google quantum research that rattled the market did not change the fact that large caps have limited room from here. Capital always flows to the sharpest entry, and right now that flow is headed into Pepeto.
The presale is above $8.1M, whales are entering with real size, and the Binance listing is locked in, which you can verify at the Pepeto official website. The wallets that miss this window will spend the next cycle wishing they had moved faster.
Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale
FAQs
What does the latest ethereum price prediction reveal after ETH pulled back from $2,200?
The ethereum price prediction shows ETH stuck below $2,200 with heavy leverage in derivatives, making a clean breakout difficult to call right now.
What is the ETH price forecast as geopolitical volatility and DeFi exploits shake confidence?
The ETH price forecast remains cautious because macro pressure and the Drift Protocol fallout are keeping risk appetite low across the market.
What does the latest ethereum market news mean for investors seeking better early stage opportunities?
Ethereum market news highlights limited large cap returns, pushing investors toward early presale entries like Pepeto that carry far bigger potential before the Binance listing, and all details are at the Pepeto official website.
Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $66,450 on Thursday, a 47% drawdown from its all-time high of $126,000 reached in October 2025. As a result, many BTC holders are sitting on significant unrealized losses, underscoring the risks still facing Bitcoin investors at current levels.
Key takeaways:
-
Bitcoin’s 47% drawdown from its $126,000 all-time high has left holders with nearly $600 billion in unrealized losses.
-
Apparent demand and buying from US investors remain in deep contraction, suggesting broader market distribution.
44% of Bitcoin circulating supply now in the red
BTC/USD trades 24% below its yearly open of $87,500 after it closed 2025 in the red. The prolonged weakness has pushed a significant portion of its supply underwater.
As Bitcoin trades at $66,450 on Thursday, roughly 8.8 million BTC are held at a loss, representing $598.7 billion in unrealized losses, or more than 44% of the circulating supply, according to data from Glassnode.
Related: Bitcoin risks new lows as US dollar targets highest level since April 2025
The magnitude of this figure implies a “structural resemblance to conditions observed in Q2 2022,” Glassnode said in its latest Week On-chain newsletter.
Glassnode explained that the 2022 bear market provides a precedent when roughly 3 million BTC needed to be redistributed before the market could recover.
“Historically, resolving a supply overhang of this scale has required a meaningful redistribution of coins from loss-realizing holders to new buyers at lower prices.”
This mounting paper loss has eroded conviction, prompting long-term holders (LTH) to capitulate by selling below their cost basis.
LTH realized loss, a metric that measures the aggregate dollar value of Bitcoin sold at a loss by investors who have held BTC for more than 155 days, has risen to $200 million, “confirming active capitulation,” Glassnode said, adding:
“A meaningful cooldown toward levels below $25M per day would represent a more compelling signal of exhaustion in selling pressure, and a prerequisite for the base formation that historically precedes a sustainable bull market transition.”
BTC’s spot price is also below the average cost basis of US spot Bitcoin ETF holders, currently at $83,408, suggesting that these investors are increasingly under strain.
The risk-off sentiment is also seen in global Bitcoin investment products, which recorded more than $194 million in net outflows during the week ending March 27.
Bitcoin apparent demand contraction persists
Bitcoin’s apparent demand has stayed negative since mid-December 2025, as traders and investors continue to be risk-off amid BTC’s price weakness.
Capriole Investment’s Bitcoin Apparent Demand metric shows that the demand for Bitcoin is at -1,623 BTC on Thursday, and that sellers are in control.
The continued contraction in total apparent demand indicates persistent “selling from retail,” CryptoQuant said in its latest Weekly Crypto report, adding:
“The sustained demand contraction, now persisting since late November 2025, confirms that the broader market remains in distribution.”
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s Coinbase Premium Index, which measures the difference in pricing between the BTC/USD pair on Coinbase and Binance, also remains in negative territory.
“The persistent negative premium indicates that US investors have not yet re-entered the market at scale,” CryptoQuant said, adding:
“This is consistent with the demand contraction seen across on-chain metrics.”
As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin price risks new lows in the short term amid a strengthening US dollar.
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research before making any decisions. Cointelegraph makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information presented, including forward-looking statements, and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content.
France’s Lightning Stock Exchange, known as Lise, is preparing to host what could become Europe’s first fully onchain stock market debut, a step that brings tokenization into the initial public offering (IPO) process.
The Paris-based exchange, approved last year under the EU’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) pilot regime, plans to list French aerospace supplier ST Group on April 9, according to a Thursday press release.
ST Group builds composite parts used in aircraft, defense systems and space programs. The company says it has about 59 million euros ($68 million) in potential program revenue over the next decade and aims to scale output as demand rises across aerospace and military supply chains.
Tokenization has gained traction among large financial firms using blockchain rails to settle trades and track ownership of assets such as bonds, funds and equities. Proponents say tokenization could improve capital markets with cheaper and faster settlements and more efficient operations. Wall Street giants like the Nasdaq and NYSE are also laid out plans for tokenized securities trading on their platforms.
Lise pushes that concept further by moving the IPO process itself onchain. The exchange focuses on small and mid-sized firms that would face high costs and long timelines when raising capital through traditional markets. It is backed by French lenders such as BNP Paribas, CACEIS (a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group) and Bpifrance.
ST Group’s debut, if successful, could offer a blueprint for smaller firms a cheaper and faster path to public markets within European rules.
Read more: EU at risk of falling behind the U.S. in tokenization rules, digital asset firms warn
US spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $1.32 billion in March 2026, ending four consecutive months of net outflows and posting their first monthly gain of the year. The reversal signals institutional demand returning to Bitcoin specifically, not to crypto broadly.
That distinction matters. While BTC funds snapped their negative streak, Ethereum ETFs closed March with $46 million in outflows, extending their own losing run to five straight months. XRP funds also ended in negative territory, sharpening a capital rotation thesis that increasingly favors Bitcoin dominance over altcoin exposure.
The prior four months had been brutal. Outflows totaled approximately $6.3 billion between November 2025 and February 2026, $3.5 billion in November alone following Bitcoin’s crash from its $126,000 all-time high on October 10.
December added $1.1 billion in redemptions, January another $1.6 billion, with February contributing $206 million more before sentiment began stabilizing.
Macro conditions drove the pressure. Sticky inflation, a cautious Federal Reserve, and geopolitical risk from the U.S.-Iran conflict kept institutional risk appetite compressed. Bitcoin retraced over 50% from its October peak, closing Q1 2026 at $66,619, down 23.8% from January 1.
ETF investors were sitting on an average cost basis near $84,000 against a market price roughly $18,000 below that.
Despite the paper losses, whale accumulation offered a countervailing signal.
On-chain data showed wallets categorized as whales accumulated 30,000 BTC – approximately $2.1 billion – through March, absorbing selling pressure and stabilizing price near $65,000 during peak Iran-related volatility.
BlackRock’s IBIT added $98.42 million on March 31 alone, and led a $458 million single-day surge earlier in the month. US spot Bitcoin ETFs added $117.63M as BTC reclaimed $68K at one point during that window, reinforcing the case that institutional demand was quietly rebuilding beneath the noise.
Discover: The best pre-launch token sales
Bitcoin ETFs Inflows: Sustainable Reversal or Relief Rally?
That $1.32 billion inflow number sounds strong, but it does not tell the full story, because it still failed to offset the $1.81 billion that left earlier in the quarter, leaving Bitcoin ETFs with a net outflow overall, so calling this a clean recovery is a stretch.
What we are really seeing is uneven demand, bursts of buying followed by sharp redemptions, which explains why price still feels stuck instead of trending.
If inflows actually stabilize and turn consistent, especially with macro tension easing, that is when Bitcoin has room to push through $74K and aim higher, helped by April usually being a solid month.
Right now though it still looks like a range, with price caught between roughly $67K and $74K while institutions absorb supply but do not push aggressively, and retail participation remains weak in the background.
The risk is that those recent inflows were just short term positioning, because we already saw a sharp weekly outflow at the end of March, and if that kind of selling returns and price loses the lower range, things can open up quickly to the downside.
Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, previously argued that cumulative outflows since the October crash are statistically insignificant relative to the $56 billion in total net inflows the category has attracted since its January 2024 launch. The diamond hands thesis holds – but only if inflows resume with conviction rather than in isolated bursts.
Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with
The post Bitcoin ETFs Snap Four-Month Outflow Streak With $1.32B in Inflows appeared first on Cryptonews.
Summary
- Fundrise’s Innovation Fund VCX will be tokenized into a new asset called VCXx in partnership with Kraken’s xStocks platform.
- VCXx will provide onchain exposure to late-stage private tech companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks through a single token.
- Eligible investors will be able to buy VCXx using USDG or U.S. dollars, with tokens designed to integrate into broader onchain trading, collateral, and DeFi strategies.
Technology investment platform Fundrise is partnering with crypto exchange Kraken to tokenize shares of its Fundrise Innovation Fund VCX, according to reporting from Crowdfund Insider. The deal will see the publicly listed VCX vehicle, which trades on the NYSE, wrapped into a blockchain-based representation on Kraken’s tokenized equities venue xStocks under the ticker VCXx.
Kraken’s xStocks framework, powered by Payward, already offers more than 100 fully backed tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, and the addition of VCXx marks its first move into tokenized access to a diversified private-tech portfolio. Fundrise CEO Ben Miller said, “We built VCX to act as a bridge between the public and private markets,” arguing that tokenizing the fund on xStocks lets “individual investors own a piece of the best private technology companies in the world” via a regulated structure.
The VCXx token will be issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited and offered via Payward Digital Solutions, with trading set to go live on xStocks “in the coming days.” Fundrise and Kraken say VCXx will be fully backed by underlying VCX shares and designed to move seamlessly between centralized exchanges, self-custodied wallets, and onchain applications.
According to xStocks’ launch materials, VCXx will be purchasable using USDG — Kraken’s on-platform dollar-denominated token — or U.S. dollars, giving eligible investors outside the U.S. a way to gain exposure to VCX’s portfolio. That portfolio includes stakes in late-stage private firms such as SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks, bundling them into a single liquid, tokenized asset that can also be used as collateral or integrated into automated strategies.
Fundrise’s Innovation Fund was launched to open up late-stage private tech deals that are typically reserved for institutions and ultra‑high‑net‑worth investors. By bringing VCX onchain, xStocks and Fundrise are extending tokenized equities beyond public stocks into private-market exposure, a segment Kraken has called “one of the most sought‑after and historically inaccessible parts of the market.”
The partners argue that tokenizing VCX shares allows diversified private-tech exposure to be accessed, transferred, and integrated into DeFi with the same flexibility as other digital assets. If VCXx gains liquidity, it could become a template for how other listed vehicles and funds wrap private holdings into programmable, globally tradable tokens without dismantling existing regulatory structures.
The price of AAVE has dropped to a 52-week low, falling below $95 even as Aave rolled out its long-awaited V4 upgrade this week.
The decline extends a broader downtrend, with the token losing over a third of its value in the past year.
The timing stands out. Aave V4 is one of the protocol’s biggest upgrades to date. In simple terms, it turns Aave from a collection of separate lending pools into one large shared liquidity system.
That means users borrow from a bigger pool, get better rates, and use capital more efficiently. It also introduces smarter pricing, where safer collateral gets cheaper loans and riskier assets cost more to borrow.
The system is also easier to expand, allowing new products and markets to plug in faster.
However, the market has not responded. The drop suggests that fundamentals alone are not driving price action in crypto right now.
Traders are still reacting more to macro conditions, liquidity, and broader sentiment than to protocol upgrades.
In reality, V4’s impact is likely to play out slowly. It improves Aave’s utility, makes the platform more competitive, and strengthens its position as core DeFi infrastructure.
But that does not guarantee immediate demand for the token itself.
The disconnect is clear. Aave’s network is becoming more useful and advanced, while its token continues to trade like a macro-sensitive asset rather than a direct reflection of that progress.
The post AAVE Hits Yearly Low Despite Major V4 Upgrade Rollout appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Elliptic said Thursday the $285 million Drift Protocol exploit, the largest this year, carries “multiple indicators” of North Korea’s state-sponsored DPRK hacker group involvement.
The research firm pointed specifically to onchain behavior, laundering methodologies and network-level signals, all of which align with previous state-linked attacks.
Drift Protocol, whose token has dropped over 40% to roughly $0.06 since the hack, is the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange on the Solana blockchain.
“If confirmed, this incident would represent the eighteenth DPRK act Elliptic has tracked this year, with over $300 million stolen so far,” the report said.
“It is a continuation of the DPRK’s sustained campaign of large-scale cryptoasset theft, which the U.S. government has linked to the funding of its weapons programs. DPRK-linked actors are believed to be responsible for billions of dollars in cryptoasset theft in recent years,” Elliptic added.
Hours earlier, Arkham data showed that over $250 million had been moved from Drift to an interim wallet, then to various other addresses.
In December, a Chainalysis report revealed DPRK hackers stole a record $2 billion of crypto in 2025, including the $1.4 billion Bybit breach, representing a 51% increase from the previous year. The U.S. Treasury Department last month said North Korea uses the stolen assets to fund the country’s weapons of mass destruction program.
Rather than focusing on the exploit itself, Elliptic’s analysis highlights a familiar operational pattern. The activity appears “premeditated and carefully staged,” with early test transactions and pre-positioned wallets preceding the main event.
The report explains that once executed, funds were rapidly consolidated and swapped, bridged across chains, and converted into more liquid assets, reflecting a structured, repeatable laundering flow designed to obscure origin while maintaining control.
A central challenge, Elliptic notes, is Solana’s account model. Because each asset is held in a separate token account, activity tied to a single actor can appear fragmented across multiple addresses. Without linking these, investigators risk seeing “fragments of the attacker’s activity, not the complete picture.”
This is where Elliptic’s report highlights the clustering approach, which connects token accounts back to a single entity, allowing exposure to be identified regardless of which address is screened. In an incident involving more than a dozen asset types, that entity-level view becomes critical.
The case also emphasizes, Elliptic adds in its report, how laundering has become inherently cross-chain. Funds moved from Solana to Ethereum and beyond, demonstrating the need for what Elliptic described as “holistic cross-chain tracing capabilities.”
TLDR
- Ethereum derivatives recorded more than $1 billion in sell volume within one hour after Trump’s speech on Iran.
- Ethereum’s price fell over 4% as traders increased short positions in the derivatives market.
- Binance accounted for nearly $968 million of the total Ethereum derivatives sell activity.
- The S&P 500 lost about $500 billion in market value shortly after the remarks.
- Spot Ethereum ETFs reported more than $7 million in net outflows on April 1.
Global financial markets reacted sharply after President Donald Trump outlined potential military action against Iran within weeks. Ethereum followed the broader risk-off move as traders rushed to exit positions. Data from CryptoQuant showed heavy selling in derivatives within a single hour.
Ethereum Derivatives Record $1B in Rapid Sell Orders
Crypto markets shifted quickly after Trump addressed the nation and detailed plans for continued strikes on Iran. He said Operation Epic Fury had weakened Iran’s military and reduced missile capabilities. He also warned that stronger attacks would continue over the next two to three weeks.
As a result, traders moved rapidly across risk assets and pushed US Treasury prices higher. At the same time, the S&P 500 erased about $500 billion in market value within minutes. Ethereum derivatives then recorded more than $1 billion in sell volume within one hour, according to CryptoQuant.
CryptoQuant reported that about $968 million of that sell volume occurred on Binance. Binance currently handles the largest share of global crypto trading activity. The surge in orders increased short-term bearish pressure across futures markets.
Consequently, Ethereum’s price fell more than 4% during the same period. The sharp movement reflected aggressive positioning in leveraged products. CryptoQuant stated that markets now face “a period of extreme uncertainty and volatility.”
The firm added that price action has become “increasingly erratic and unstable.” Traders reacted directly to geopolitical developments and shifting liquidity conditions. The derivatives spike marked one of the largest hourly sell waves this month.
ETF Outflows Add Pressure on Ethereum
Institutional flows also reflected weaker sentiment toward Ethereum products. Spot Ethereum ETFs posted eight consecutive days of net outflows before briefly reversing direction. During the following two sessions, these funds recorded short-lived inflows.
However, the rebound did not hold as outflows returned. On April 1, spot Ethereum ETFs registered more than $7 million in net withdrawals. The renewed selling aligned with rising geopolitical tension and reduced risk appetite.
Bitunix analysts described the current environment as a shift in market structure. They stated, “The market has entered a new phase dominated by ‘supply chain destruction.’” They added that energy, metals, and geopolitics now push inflation expectations higher without supporting growth.
The analysts said this dynamic creates a mismatch between risk pricing and economic support. They explained that asset prices now respond mainly to liquidity conditions. They also stated that markets lack a clear policy anchor or exit path from conflict.
Ethereum’s derivatives data and ETF flows both reflected mounting strain across trading venues. Traders reduced exposure as headlines intensified across global markets. The latest ETF outflow data on April 1 marked the most recent confirmed movement in institutional positioning.
Ether (ETH) price may be at risk of a correction to new year-to-date lows, especially if the bulls fail to secure daily candle closes above the $2,150 to $2,400 range.
Ether’s price action continues to be driven by US and global macroeconomic events, along with investors’ appetite for risk assets during the US and Israel-Iran war. As data shows more than $1 billion in futures-driven sell pressure, the chance of Ether falling below $1,800 rises.
Ether’s main challenge sits at $2,400
Repeat rejections near $2,150 continue to cap Ether rallies, and the level has acted as a strong resistance seven times over the past two months. The trend and its resistance dominate the price action, despite the pattern of higher-high and higher-low candles, which can be seen on the daily chart.
A break below the ascending trendline may shift traders’ focus to $1,900, where liquidity sits near the equal lows formed during the first week of March. Losing that level introduces a bearish break of structure, exposing the external liquidity pockets to Ether’s yearly low at $1,736.
The short positioning has not increased significantly despite the recent decline. The liquidation heatmap shows an imbalance within a 10% range ($1,845–$2,255) from the current price, with approximately $2.4 billion in long liquidations clustered near the lower bound ($1,845) and $1.7 billion in short liquidations near the upper bound ($2,255).
This skew indicates that downside liquidity is larger, but the short positioning still isn’t overcrowded, even as the price continues to weaken.
The absence of large short buildup points to a passive positioning stance rather than conviction-driven selling. The price continues to compress under resistance, with buyers unable to reclaim control above the key threshold of $2,150.
Related: Ethereum bulls must hold $2K: Volatility metric hints at ‘strong’ move next
ETH derivatives spike after continued macro volatility
A surge in ETH futures selling followed comments by US President Donald Trump, which escalated tensions with Iran rather than calming markets. Trump signaled that military action will continue until late April and warned of potential strikes on Iran’s power plants.
Following the development, crypto analyst Darkfost noted that Ether futures sell volume on Binance increased by $1 billion within an hour.
Despite the surge in selling, ETH continues to trade just below the $2,150 resistance level. A sustained move above $2,150 would open the way toward $2,400, where resistance is relatively thin.
If the price clears $2,400, the next expansion zone sits near $2,800, where little trading activity has occurred over the past six months.
For now, ETH remains range-bound, capped by repeated resistance near $2,150, with $1,900 acting as the nearest liquidity pivot, which may extend the bearish breakdown.
Related: Ethereum’s EEZ and the attempt to rebuild one Ethereum
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research before making any decisions. Cointelegraph makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information presented, including forward-looking statements, and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content.
President Donald Trump’s renewed aggressive posturing toward Iran has pushed bitcoin lower by roughly 2% over the past 24 hours to $67,000. While this price action is consistent with routine volatility, beneath the surface, market structure looks fragile.
This is mainly due to flows in the Deribit-listed options market, specifically, a build-up of defensive positioning just below current prices that could result in a slide all the way down to $50,000.
A fragile setup below $68,000
In recent weeks, traders have been loading up on put options offering downside protection. These defensive flows have been concentrated in put options at strike levels $68,000 and lower, all the way down to mid-$55,000s. This is understandable, given the macroeconomic risks from the Iran war, quantum threats and the brutal bear market that began late last year.
However, when this kind of positioning builds, it creates what savvy traders call a “negative gamma” zone – a setup where market makers or dealers who add liquidity to an exchange’s order book are forced to react to price moves in ways that end up accelerating the prevailing trend, which is bearish in this case.
These kinds of dynamics have amplified both bullish and bearish trends in the past.
The Glassnode chart shows that dealer gamma exposure is mostly negative from $68,000 to $50,000. This is the result of being on the opposite end of traders’ long put positions.
In other words, dealers are holding short put positions. So, as the market drops below $68,000, they face losses and are likely to short BTC to hedge their exposure.
This hedging can push prices even lower, creating a feedback loop, which can accelerate quickly.
That’s why the latest drop below the $68,000 level becomes critical. The break below that threshold doesn’t just signal technical weakness — it opens the door to a zone where forced selling could intensify.
“Negative gamma is now building just below current price levels, from $68K all the way down to the high 50s,” Glassnode said in its weekly report.
“A move into this zone could trigger accelerated selling as hedging flows reinforce downside momentum, turning what would otherwise be a gradual move into a sharper repricing, with a potential revisit of the $60k level, the bottom of the February 5 selloff,” the firm added.
With liquidity still relatively thin following the March 27 options expiry, and likely to remain thin over the Easter holidays, there may not be enough buyers to absorb that pressure.
So, if the feedback loop fully kicks in, the decline could extend well below $60,000.
This setup shows that while bitcoin is currently reacting to war headlines, the market’s inner workings can also shape its trajectory.
If prices hold above $68,000, the current setup may unwind without much damage. But a sustained break below that level could flip the market into a regime where selling feeds on itself, turning a routine dip into a much deeper move.
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