Key Highlights:
- Bitcoin fell 0.7% since midnight UTC to around $73,400 as a technology-stock selloff pressured crypto markets.
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $299.9 million in outflows on Wednesday, extending the losing streak to five sessions and taking cumulative outflows since Nov. 5 to about $1.44 billion.
- Crypto derivatives activity cooled sharply, while negative cumulative volume delta across most major coins pointed to continued market-order selling.
Bitcoin and Ether Slip as Tech Stocks Sell Off
Bitcoin ($BTC) was trading near the day’s low at around $73,400, down 0.7% since midnight UTC from $73,512.58. Over the previous 24 hours, bitcoin lost 0.8%. Ether ($ETH) fell 0.5% to about $2,044 from $2,031.88, leaving it down 0.7% over the same period. The CoinDesk 80 Index declined 1%.
The broader risk-off move was led by Nvidia, whose shares were down about 7% in pre-market trading. The decline followed a New York Times report that CEO Jensen Huang had a relationship with a company executive and a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia’s board was preparing to remove him. Nvidia has not announced a decision. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.6%, giving back part of Wednesday’s rally led by CoreWeave.
Crypto markets also continued to face weak investment demand. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted $299.9 million in net outflows on Wednesday, according to SoSoValue. It was the fifth consecutive session of withdrawals, bringing total outflows since Nov. 5 to approximately $1.44 billion. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $269.7 million of Wednesday’s outflows and recorded its ninth straight session of redemptions.
Derivatives Activity Cools as Selling Pressure Persists
Crypto futures volume declined 20.64% over 24 hours to $168.6 billion, while open interest fell 2.92% to $125.8 billion. The simultaneous drop in volume and open interest indicates that trading activity cooled as positions were closed and capital left the market. Liquidations dropped 63.67% to $263.7 million, but long positions represented 64.5% of the total, showing that more bullish bets were forced out than short positions.
Bitcoin futures recorded capital outflows, with open interest down 2.9% against a 0.6% price decline. Volume dropped 27.6%, and cumulative volume delta was negative, indicating that market orders were weighted toward selling. Funding remained moderately positive, meaning long traders continued to pay short traders. Bitcoin also recorded the largest coin-level liquidations at $62.9 million.
Ether futures saw a smaller outflow of capital. Open interest declined 1.8% while ether’s price fell 0.6%, and volume dropped 37.2%, the steepest decline among major cryptocurrencies. Ether’s cumulative volume delta was flat, suggesting a balance between market-order buying and selling, while funding remained moderately positive.
Open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta was negative for most major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. The reading points to a broader bias toward market-order selling and bearish sentiment. Gram ($GRAM), NEAR and Zcash ($ZEC) were among the exceptions with positive readings.
Funding Rates and Options Signal Caution
Monero ($XMR) perpetual futures showed the most extreme funding conditions. The annualized average funding rate across exchanges was approximately 80% and continued to rise from early morning, meaning long traders were paying short traders heavily. Most other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, had moderately positive funding rates. Gram, formerly Toncoin, was the exception on the negative side, meaning short traders paid long traders.
Dogecoin ($DOGE) futures also experienced significant capital outflows. Open interest fell 5.9% against a 1.5% price decline. Zcash futures showed a similar pattern, with open interest down 5.4% while the price slipped 0.4%. Zcash’s cumulative volume delta was positive, indicating that market orders leaned toward buying even as capital left its futures market.
Bitcoin options continued to show a put skew, with puts carrying a premium over calls. One-week skew rose slightly to about 11%, while one-week implied volatility eased to approximately 35% from 38% on Tuesday. Four of the six most-traded contracts were calls, led by the $80,000 call expiring Dec. 25. The other two were puts at the $73,000 and $74,000 strikes expiring Nov. 13.
Ether options also retained a put skew, with one-week skew edging up to about 12%. Four of the six most-traded contracts were puts, although the busiest contract was the $2,200 call expiring Nov. 20.
Gram Leads CoinDesk 100 as DeFi Weakens
Gram ($GRAM), the renamed Toncoin, led the CoinDesk 100 for a second consecutive day, rising 5.2% since midnight UTC. Attention remained focused on Telegram’s wallet expansion after founder Pavel Durov said earlier this week that more than 700,000 wallets had been created in the app within 48 hours.
Zcash rose 2.4% after a difficult start to the week. A draft proposal would remove 50,000 ZEC, worth approximately $50 million, from the Zcash Community Grants treasury. Zcash holders are scheduled to vote on the proposal from Nov. 16 to Nov. 30.
Render (RENDER), the decentralized GPU network, fell 3.1% as Nvidia shares declined. Avalanche (AVAX) gained 2.0% while traders continued to assess Monday’s announcement that a clearing firm connected to a planned NYSE-affiliated tokenized securities platform would use the Avalanche blockchain, pending regulatory approval.
Decentralized finance was the weakest area of the market. The CoinDesk DeFi Select Index (DFX) fell 1.6%, while Aave (AAVE), ether.fi (ETHFI) and Ethena (ENA) declined between 2.5% and 3.3%. Monero dropped 4.5%, making it the worst performer in the CoinDesk 100, although no obvious catalyst was identified for the move.
Why This Matters
The combination of falling spot bitcoin ETF demand, declining futures open interest and negative cumulative volume delta shows that the market is losing both investment inflows and leveraged positioning. The pressure from technology stocks, particularly Nvidia, is also weighing on crypto assets tied to the broader technology and artificial-intelligence trade, including Render.
Market participants are awaiting the latest initial jobless claims at 13:30 UTC and watching for any decision from Nvidia’s board. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet Dec. 8-9, with CME FedWatch pricing in approximately a 90% chance of a rate hike. Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index fell to 39 from 40 the previous day and remained well below the 75 level that signals an altcoin season. The fear and greed index stood at 26, in fear territory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is bitcoin falling?
Bitcoin is being pressured by a selloff in technology stocks, weak demand from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs and continued selling pressure in derivatives markets. It was down 0.7% since midnight UTC at around $73,400.
How large were recent spot bitcoin ETF outflows?
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost $299.9 million on Wednesday, according to SoSoValue. It was the fifth consecutive day of outflows, with total withdrawals reaching about $1.44 billion since Nov. 5.
Is the market in an altcoin season?
No. CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index was at 39 out of 100, far below the 75 level that signals an altcoin season. The index fell from 40 the previous day, while the fear and greed index remained in fear territory at 26.
