Zcash, Hyperliquid tokens lead losses as traders bet against a bitcoin bounce
Crypto markets fell ahead of U.S. inflation data, with bitcoin back under $61,500 and ZEC, HYPE and other majors sliding on growing bearish positioning.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Crypto is under pressure before Wednesday’s U.S. CPI release. Bitcoin slipped back under $61,500 and below its 200-week moving average while futures, funding rates and options data showed traders leaning bearish.
Crypto investors are nervous before a big U.S. inflation report, like waiting for a test result before deciding to buy or sell. Bitcoin fell back under an important line, and many traders are betting the price could slide more before it bounces.
Analysis
Market pressure
Crypto markets weakened ahead of key U.S. inflation data expected later Wednesday. Bitcoin fell back below $61,500, undoing much of Sunday’s bounce, while Zcash and Hyperliquid’s HYPE each dropped more than 10% over 24 hours. ADA, ONDO and BCH also fell, and the CoinDesk 20 Index was down 3%.
Technical and derivatives signals
A key concern is that bitcoin is trading below its 200-week simple moving average, a level traders often watch for signs of a longer bear phase. Alex Kuptsikevich of FxPro said history around that average suggests prices can spend a long time near it, which he interprets as a possible extended bear market.
Derivatives positioning also leaned negative. Bitcoin futures volume rose while open interest slipped overall, but bitcoin’s own open interest edged higher even as price fell, which points to fresh short positioning. Negative perpetual funding rates and a negative OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta suggest sellers are hitting bids rather than patiently waiting with limit orders.
Broader market tone
The bearish setup was not limited to bitcoin. Funding rates and CVD were negative across most major coins, including ether and XRP, with XMR the lone exception mentioned as having a slightly positive 24-hour CVD. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility climbed ahead of the CPI print, and short-dated puts on BTC and ETH continued to trade at a premium to calls, showing ongoing demand for downside protection.
Side developments
The article also flagged a misleading DeFi dashboard move: Uniswap V4’s TVL appeared to jump more than 350%, but CoinDesk traced it to the Humanity Protocol’s hacked H token, which was minted in unlimited supply and inflated the data. Separately, Morpho rose after announcing a $175 million fundraise that valued the protocol at up to $2 billion, before giving back part of the gain.
Key points
- Bitcoin fell back below $61,500 and under its 200-week moving average before U.S. CPI data.
- Zcash and Hyperliquid’s HYPE led losses, both dropping more than 10% in 24 hours.
- Futures, funding rates and cumulative volume delta all pointed to growing bearish positioning.
- A reported 350% jump in Uniswap V4 TVL was tied to a hacked token, not real deposits.
- Morpho rose after a $175 million token-related fundraise, then gave back some of the gain.
If the inflation report comes in cooler than feared, traders betting on more downside could rush to cover, which may help bitcoin recover the Sunday bounce. The article also notes that some recent prices are deep enough to look like a buy zone to certain market trackers.
If inflation is hotter than expected, the bearish setup could deepen and keep pressure on bitcoin and major altcoins. A sustained move below the 200-week average, combined with negative funding and rising short positioning, would make the market look more like an extended downturn.
