Bitcoin steadies above $60,000 while derivatives send an unambiguous warning

BTC crashed to $61,300 before recovering to $62,500 with $3 billion in liquidations over two days. Traders loaded up on $60,000 puts in anticipation of further declines. What to know : Bitcoin plunged to $61,300 before recovering to around $62,500, contributing to $3 billion in liquidations over two days as open interest fell 8.5% to $111.4 billion. Derivatives markets are firmly in bear territory. Put skews have strengthened on both bitcoin and ether and the $60,000 strike put on Deribit carries over $1 billion in notional open interest. Solana open interest surged to a record even as prices fell, a combination that typically signals aggressive short accumulation and reflects SOL's relative weakness after breaking below its February low.