Crypto Markets Today: Fear Grips Market as BTC Tests Support, Volatility Spikes
The Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 15/100, the lowest since April, suggesting a potential relief bounce; however, Bitcoin (BTC) may retest the $87,500 support level.
BTC is currently near $91,400 and Ethereum (ETH) near $3,060 amid broad altcoin weakness. Privacy tokens led the declines, with Zcash (ZEC) down 14% to $570.93 and Dash down 9% to $75.60. In contrast, ASTER and HYPE bucked the trend, rising 8.5% and 5% respectively.
The market experienced over $1 billion in leveraged futures liquidations in the past 24 hours, mostly long positions. Volatility has spiked, with the Volmex BVIV around 55% annualized, marking the highest level since the October 10 crash.
BTC open interest reached 730,550 BTC, a six-week high, which paired with the price drop suggests a downtrend. ETH futures open interest is about 12.5 million, with perpetual funding rates remaining mildly positive overall, excluding TRX.
Deribit options show a strengthened put bias for BTC and ETH, highlighted by flows such as the BTC $90,000 put expiring November 28 and ETH $4,000 calls rollover.
The CoinDesk 10 index (excluding BTC) declined 3.8% in the last 24 hours and 19.7% for the month, indicating deflationary pressure across the market.
Caution is warranted among traders, exemplified by a recent loss of $5.5 million by a trader who shorted the bottom with 30x leverage, underscoring the risks present in the crowded market environment.
