Bitcoin traded near the $60,000 level on Thursday after recording its weakest monthly performance since June 2022, with $1.9 billion in Bitcoin options contracts settling on July 3 adding to market uncertainty. The cryptocurrency was trading at $60,277 after a modest rebound alongside Ethereum and major altcoins, with Bitcoin up 2.85% in the past 24 hours and Ethereum gaining 2.88% to trade at $1,618. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Dogecoin, and Cardano gained up to 4.74%, while Hyperliquid was down 0.51%. The global crypto market capitalisation went up 1.99% to $2.08 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap, with long-term holders controlling roughly 14.8 million BTC.
Bitcoin options expiry on July 3 showed a put-call ratio of 0.7 with a maximum pain point of $61,000, according to GreeksLive, indicating traders are demanding short-term downside protection around the $60,000 level. The same report showed 135,000 ETH options expiring with a notional value of about $230 million, featuring a higher put-call ratio of 1.29 and maximum pain level of $1,650, demonstrating stronger hedging needs in Ether than Bitcoin. BTC gamma exposure was concentrated around $60,000, while ETH gamma exposure was centered near $1,700, with GreeksLive noting that BTC's 25-delta skew remained negative across short-term maturities and puts continued to trade at a premium to calls. CoinGlass options data also showed total BTC options open interest falling after the large quarterly expiry, though lower open interest can reduce market depth while maintaining hedging pressure. Latest Deribit data shows Bitcoin's one-week 25-delta put-call skew at around 16%, still notably elevated though significantly lower than the 25% of 10 days ago, with one-, three-, and six-month skews also showing put premiums of around 10% or more.
The cautious options setup follows several weeks of weak spot demand, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF outflows continuing to weigh on the rebound. As previously reported by crypto.news, Bitcoin struggled to break above $60,000 as options flows and ETF selling kept buyers cautious, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing nearly $1.79 billion in weekly outflows, their largest withdrawal of 2026. Binance recorded $1.7 billion in stablecoin outflows as Bitcoin retested the $60k level, suggesting investors are pulling liquidity from the market and choosing to hold dry powder instead of deploying capital. The same report noted that softer U.S. macro expectations and easing oil prices helped risk assets recover, but ETF selling pressure persisted.
In 2026, Bitcoin and gold have dropped 31% and 6% respectively, making them the worst-performing major assets this year in an unusual occurrence historically. This decline reflects investors reducing exposure to both traditional and alternative stores of value amid macroeconomic pressures like high interest rates and geopolitical tensions. Bitcoin's price fell from over $110,000 in late 2025 to around $58,400 at the time of writing, representing a 7.9% decline over the past week alone. Gold also began to decline after steady gains, with the Bitcoin-to-Gold ratio and their price correlation indicating increased market stress, highlighting a rare scenario where both assets, usually moving inversely, are down simultaneously.
GreeksLive said the crypto market's Q3 outlook remained weak as attention shifted toward U.S. stocks, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and tokenized U.S. stock products, with the firm noting that Bitcoin's "long-term downtrend has not yet ended," pointing to selling pressure from large holders and ETFs. Despite the recent weakness, Bitcoin has formed a potential trend reversal setup that could signal a short-term shift in momentum, according to market analysts. The US dollar pulled back from its highs, a tailwind for BTC, with the long-dollar trade being crowded at +$34.3B, an 18-month high, hinting that a dollar reversal may be near. A weaker US dollar and crude oil prices falling to a four-month low have improved risk sentiment, helping BTC recover, as noted by Mudrex, though institutional demand remains subdued with continued ETF outflows reflecting a risk-off approach. The ether-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio is rising again and fast approaching its 100-day simple moving average, with the ratio's recovery rallies historically running into strong selling pressure around that level.
