Bitcoin Holds Near $78K Amid Widespread Crypto Retreat
Bitcoin has retreated to near $78,000 after losing Wednesday's rebound. The cryptocurrency is down about 2% over 24 hours and 5.1% below last week's high of $82,284.
The damage from the pullback has been concentrated in the market's riskier corners, with memecoins and smaller-cap assets taking the sharpest losses. The memecoin index dropped 10% over 24 hours, while the small-cap index lost 5.1%, compared to a 2.3% decline for the large-cap basket.
PONS plummeted more than 26% to below $0.60, while DASH fell 14%, LIT and ARB lost 13%, and PUMP, TRUMP, and UNI each declined 11%. BNB dropped about 5%, XRP slipped below $1.40, and Solana struggled around $100.
Derivatives positioning reinforced the cautious tone, with cumulative futures open interest falling 2% to $139 billion even as volume increased 5%. Bitcoin open interest rose just over 1% while spot price declined, a combination commonly associated with traders building short positions.