Futures traders cut leveraged positions ahead of July policy decision
Bitcoin traded near $62,000 on Wednesday following a sharp reversal in futures markets and the Federal Reserve’s release of June meeting minutes, as traders repositioned ahead of the central bank’s July 29 policy statement.
The price decline of 2% over the past 24 hours reflected broader market stress. Semiconductor stocks, led by Samsung profit-taking in Asian markets, dragged equities lower overnight. Oil prices spiked approximately 5% amid escalating US-Iran military tensions, adding to risk-off sentiment across assets.
Futures market activity reversed sharply between Monday and Wednesday. On Monday, cumulative volume delta buying reached $585 million in futures and $119 million in spot markets, totaling $705 million in net buying. By Wednesday, after the Fed released its June minutes, futures selling accelerated to $500 million while spot selling hit $86 million. Long liquidations during the selling pressure totaled $47 million versus $4 million in short liquidations, according to Hyblock market analysis.
Bitcoin buyers showed resilience at lower levels. Spot market and BTC ETF buying absorbed dips to $60,000 and below, indicating investor appetite at the current price range. However, large clusters of long positions concentrated around the $61,000 level remained vulnerable to further downside pressure.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, tracked by Alternative.me, shifted into “fear” category sentiment. That shift accelerated after Strategy, a major cryptocurrency treasury holder, sold 3,588 BTC at prices below its $74,582 average purchase price, realizing an approximate loss on $216 million in notional value. The sale cast negative sentiment across the wider market.
Traders watched the Fed minutes for clues on rate cut timing and inflation outlook. Market pricing indicated a 73% probability that the Federal Reserve would hold rates steady at its July 29 meeting. Bulk of Bitcoin’s price movement remained driven by futures positioning rather than spot demand, suggesting leverage reduction remained the dominant driver through Wednesday’s session.
