Bitcoin Analysts Highlight Retail Caution As BTC Briefly Hits $90K

As futures activity rose and spot moves fell, crypto markets traded cautiously, suggesting investors are repositioning.

• Long liquidations dominated despite rangebound spot prices. 
• Analysts warned derivatives risk may be increasing as funding rates and open interest rose from 0.04% to 0.09%.
• Altcoins remained resilient as spot demand absorbed leverage resets.

Bitcoin (BTC) prices remained rangebound on Monday night, but analysts warn markets might be repricing.

Bitcoin’s price was trading at $88,276, dipping 0.2% from the day before. Even though spot moves were mostly in the lower band, Bitcoin saw nearly $84.3 million in total liquidations over 24 hours, with $53.25 million coming from long positions alone, as per Coinglass data. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Bitcoin remained in ‘extremely bearish’ territory, while chatter around the asset rose from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ levels over the past day.

Bitcoin’s Price Could Be Dubious

Glassnode warned on X that derivatives markets are becoming riskier again. Perpetual open interest rose from 304,000 to 310,000 BTC, and funding rates rose from 0.04% to 0.09% as prices rose to $90,353.24 on Monday.

However, Alex Thorn, Galaxy's Head of Firmwide Research, said that when inflation is taken into account, Bitcoin's moves look much more contained. He pointed out that BTC never really broke $100,000 in real 2020-dollar terms, so he sees the $90,000 mark as a nominal repricing rather than an excess gain for the asset. 

Market Consolidates

Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $2,997,  down by 0.4% over the past day. ETH saw the most liquidations, totaling about $54.0 million, of which $33.23 million were long liquidations. 

CoinGlass data showed that leverage is being reset frequently in the derivatives markets. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Ethereum stayed in ‘bearish’ territory, with chatter remaining in ‘low’ levels over the past day.

Solana (SOL) was trading near $125.8, up about 0.4% in the last 24 hours. Solana saw almost $5.8 million in total liquidations, with long liquidations accounting for the majority. The price stability suggests that spot demand is offsetting leveraged unwinds. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Solana remained ‘bearish’, with chatter around it changing from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ levels over the past day.

Ripple’s native token (​XRP) fell modestly, trading around $1.90, down about 1.2% in the past day. XRP reported roughly $2.16 million in total liquidations, with long positions making up the majority, indicating continued pressure on directional longs. On Stocktwits, sentiment around XRP stayed in ‘bearish’ territory with ‘normal’ levels of chatter.

Dogecoin (DOGE) was trading near $0.132, up 1.1% in 24 hours. DOGE saw approximately $2.0 million in liquidations, with long liquidations outweighing shorts, indicating that speculative positioning was reduced despite the price gain. Retail sentiment around Dogecoin remained in ‘bearish’ territory, with chatter staying at ‘low’ levels on Stocktwits.

Binance Coin (BNB) stayed around $857, down 0.03% for the day. BNB liquidations remained subdued at around $0.4 million over 24 hours, indicating that the company has relatively light leverage in comparison to its peers. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment towards BNB remained 'bearish', with 'normal' levels of chatter.

TRON (TRX) traded around $0.284, down about 1.5% in the last 24 hours. TRX recorded a few liquidations, totaling less than $0.02 million, indicating limited derivatives participation. Retail sentiment for TRX changed from ‘bullish to ‘neutral’ territory, with chatter levels remaining 'normal' on Stocktwits.

Cardano (ADA) was trading near $0.369, up roughly 0.8% over the previous day. ADA witnessed approximately $0.93 million in total liquidations, with long-side unwinds slightly surpassing shorts. Retail sentiment on Cardano changed from 'extremely bearish' territory to ‘bearish’, with chatter sitting near 'normal' levels on Stocktwits.​

Market Minute

Overall, the crypto market saw just over $240 million in total liquidations in the last 24 hours, with long positions accounting for the majority of forced unwinds, reflecting a larger theme of controlled deleveraging rather than disorderly risk-off behavior.

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