Look at BTC last night, it rose to $73.29K then dropped again. Now settled at $73.22K with increased volatility reaching 58% based on the BVIV index. It seems the market is nervous, many are starting to hedge their positions.

What’s interesting is that futures open interest has been steadily decreasing, down more than 18% since the beginning of the year. This indicates many are exiting leverage trading, especially in BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP. But there’s something unique—ZEC has actually increased—some are optimistic about this privacy coin, it seems.

In the options market, put BTC $60K is the most traded with a total open interest of $1.5 billion. This clearly signals that many traders are preparing for a downside scenario. Altcoins are also quite pressured, NEO has fallen but AVAX has risen by 2.38%. In fact, if you look at the top 100 markets, the momentum is still mixed. The key now is whether BTC can break above $75K or fall below $62K—that will determine the next direction for altcoins.

Sentiment remains bearish here, but not panic yet. Wait for BTC’s move before making any decisions.