Bitcoin News Today: Macroeconomic Jitters Trigger Crypto Liquidity Exodus

Bitcoin's open interest has plunged 30% from its October peak to $66.54 billion as of November 18, signaling waning speculative fervor and liquidity in the crypto market. The decline, driven by a confluence of macroeconomic uncertainty, persistent outflows from spot ETFs, and a broader risk-off sentiment, has left investors cautious amid a bearish technical outlook.

The drop in open interest follows a record $19 billion in crypto liquidations during a deleveraging event in early October, which spooked traders into reducing exposure. Bitcoin's futures open interest has since fallen from $94.12 billion on October 7 to $68.37 billion as of November 11, while Ethereum's OI-Weighted Funding Rate dipped to 0.0007%-a stark contrast to the 0.0067% recorded just a day prior. . On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant noted that the 11.32% weekly decline in open interest reflects speculative risk being "eliminated," a historical precursor to market recovery.

Institutional and retail demand for Bitcoin ETFs has remained tepid, with net outflows totaling $1.22 billion and $799 million in the two weeks leading up to November 10. Retail investors, still reeling from the October liquidations, have shown little appetite to re-enter the market, exacerbating the bearish narrative. Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs recorded zero net flows on November 11, underscoring the lack of conviction in digital asset investment products.

The broader macroeconomic landscape has further dampened sentiment. A 43-day U.S. government shutdown and shifting expectations around a Federal Reserve rate cut in December have heightened uncertainty. . Markets now price in a 40% chance of a December cut, down from over 90% earlier in November. Traders are also bracing for earnings from Nvidia Corp., a bellwether for tech and speculative risk, which could influence risk-on/off dynamics according to financial reports.

Bearish positioning has intensified in the options market, with over $740 million in short-dated contracts betting on Bitcoin falling below $80,000. "The absence of conviction-based spot demand has become increasingly apparent as buyers who accumulated positions over the last six months now find themselves significantly underwater," said Chris Newhouse, director of research at Ergonia according to market analysis.

The selloff has extended to smaller tokens like Solana, where positioning has fallen by over 50% since October. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has also been hit, dropping to a 10-day low of $2,946 as major digital-asset treasuries-such as Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy-face pressure to sell assets to protect balance sheets.

Market analysts caution that the current environment reflects broader macroeconomic jitters rather than structural flaws in crypto. "The risk-off tone spills into crypto markets, where sentiment remains fragile," said Thomas Perfumo, global economist at Kraken according to market analysis. With Bitcoin trading near a six-month low and the crypto market cap down $1 trillion from October's peak, the path to recovery remains clouded by both technical and macroeconomic headwinds.