Cryptocurrency Market Plunges Amid Geopolitical Tensions

The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn on Thursday, with major assets such as Bitcoin and Ether plummeting in value.

The decline was driven by renewed geopolitical tensions, which pushed oil prices up by 10% and weighed heavily on equities. This led to a sharp drop in the value of Bitcoin and Ether, with both assets losing around 2-4% of their value since midnight UTC.

Derivatives data suggests that traders are positioning for further downside, with funding rates turning deeply negative and open interest rising. This indicates a strong bias towards bearish bets, particularly in Ether where the funding rate has dropped to its most negative level since October last year.