Cryptocurrency markets faced renewed pressure on Tuesday as both Bitcoin and NEAR Protocol encountered key technical hurdles, with derivatives data pointing to a weakening appetite for risk among leveraged traders.
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped back below $64,000 after an attempted rebound stalled near $64,500. The decline gathered pace after long liquidations kicked in, with $13.6 million in long positions wiped out in just four hours, according to Coinglass. The sell‑off followed a brief recovery sparked by strong spot and futures demand – around $143 million in spot buying and $568 million in net futures buying – but the failure to hold above the $64,000 mark exposed a fragile market structure.
Adding to the unease, an SEC filing revealed that Strategy sold 3,588 BTC (worth roughly $216 million) to fund dividend payments, and still holds authorization to offload another $1.3 billion in Bitcoin. This overhang kept traders cautious. On the technical front, the 4‑hour chart shows BTC dropped to the $63,200–$63,300 zone, a high‑volume node where buyers and sellers are fiercely competing. The daily chart has reclaimed the 20‑day EMA at $62,600, but remains below the 50‑day EMA around $65,600, signaling that the medium‑term trend has yet to turn bullish.
At the same time, NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is clinging to the $1.97 support, which coincides with its 50‑day EMA. Although price is still up 4% since Sunday, a descending trendline around $2.00 has repeatedly rejected upside attempts. Derivatives activity is cooling: futures open interest edged down to $448.6 million, while funding rates softened from 0.0120% on Friday to just 0.0031%, indicating a retreat in leveraged long demand. The RSI hovers near 55, and the MACD remains above its signal line, suggesting bullish momentum has not entirely dissipated, but buyers need to clear $2.00 to open a path toward the $2.56 swing high.
Market participants are now bracing for the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes on Wednesday, with a 75.6% probability priced in for unchanged rates at 3.50%‑3.75%. Any hawkish tilt could add further pressure to the already crowded leveraged long positions across the crypto space.
