Bitcoin Grinds Near All-Time Highs as Derivatives Weigh—But Bulls Aren’t Backing Down

BTC’s price action stalls under derivative market pressures—yet the setup screams accumulation phase. Here’s why traders are still betting on a violent upside move.

Derivative markets throwing shade? Bitcoin’s open interest and funding rates suggest overheated leverage, but spot flows tell a different story. Institutional wallets keep stacking sats like there’s no tomorrow.

Breakout or fakeout? The $70K resistance zone has become a psychological battleground. Shorts are piling in, but liquidity pools above $72K look ripe for a classic liquidity grab. (Wall Street analysts, meanwhile, are still ’discovering’ Bitcoin’s scarcity—only a decade late.)

Bottom line: This isn’t 2021’s leverage circus. With ETF inflows steady and miner capitulation absent, any dip below $67K will likely get bought aggressively. The market’s playing chicken with gamma exposure—and when this squeezes, it’ll be spectacular.

Derivatives activity creating headwinds

According to a by CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost, the restrained price action stems from structural pressures in the derivatives market.

The report highlighted that cumulative net taker volume, a measure of aggressive trading flow, has remained negative since bitcoin reclaimed the $100,000 level. This imbalance shows that short positions have outweighed longs, generating sustained selling pressure. 

The bearish positioning indicates that traders are skeptical of a near-term MOVE to new all-time highs and are actively betting against further upside. As long as this imbalance persists, Bitcoin’s upward potential remains capped despite favorable conditions in spot and on-chain markets.

Price stagnation in the presence of bullish fundamentals is not unprecedented. However, even strong network signals can be muted temporarily when derivative flows overpower spot accumulation. 

The current divergence between derivatives activity and on-chain profitability highlights the friction in Bitcoin’s price discovery process.

Bitcoin volatility hits record low vs. gold

Bitcoin’s muted price movement has also resulted in a historic compression of volatility, which has hit levels last seen more than 10 years ago.

VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel,on May 16 that Bitcoin’s 30-day volatility has dropped below gold’s for the first time since data tracking began. 

Based on Bloomberg terminal metrics, the BBR/GC1 ratio is now at 0.857, its lowest level over a decade.

While derivatives positioning remains a near-term barrier, historical patterns suggest that prolonged periods of volatility suppression have often preceded large directional moves. 

Whether that materializes again depends on shifts in taker flow, macro conditions, and liquidity conditions.