Bitcoin nears 2024 lows as options traders pay up for downside protection
CoinDesk 2026-06-30 10:48:06
Context: Bitcoin and ether prices have dropped to critical support levels, with bitcoin nearing its 2024 lows and ether testing a price level it has bounced from twice before. The decline in cryptocurrency prices contrasts with the stability of traditional markets, where US equities have remained steady. The drop in cryptocurrency prices has been led by DeFi tokens, which have seen significant losses.
Key Facts
- Bitcoin's price fell 1.5% on Tuesday to $59,307.25 and is now trading at $59,250, nearing the weekend lows of $58,800.
- Ether's price is down 1.73% since midnight UTC, trading at $1,580, testing a critical multiyear support level it has bounced from twice before, in April 2025 and October 2023.
- Open interest in dogecoin jumped to 16 billion tokens, the highest since the October 10 crash, but the inflows look bearish due to negative funding rates and aggressive selling.
- On Deribit, BTC puts continue to trade at a 10%-plus premium to calls across all time frames, signaling persistent downside concerns, while ether shows a similar pattern at the short end.
- Stellar lumens (XLM) is one of the few tokens bucking the trend, maintaining bullish sentiment after DTCC announced it will connect its tokenized securities platform to the Stellar network in the first half of 2027.