Bitcoin Holds at $65,674 Below $66,000 as 13% July Rebound Loses Momentum

3 articles · Updated · CoinDesk · Jul 23

Bitcoin traded at $65,674, down 0.62% since midnight UTC, and stayed trapped in a $64,000-$66,800 band for a third straight session after failing to clear $66,000 on Tuesday.
Futures data showed little conviction behind the pause: 24-hour crypto volume slipped 1% to $147 billion, open interest held near $111 billion, and BTC futures OI eased to 743,000 BTC from above 760,000 earlier this week.
BVIV rose for a fifth consecutive day, a caution signal because bitcoin's spot price has tended to move inversely to implied volatility since spot ETFs launched, even as options traders bought Aug. 7 $70,000 BTC calls alongside protective puts.
Altcoins showed mixed risk appetite in the holding pattern, with WLFI jumping 12.18% to $0.063, Morpho gaining nearly 4%, and Lighter falling 2.96% for a third straight session on profit-taking.
Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were both down about 0.3%, while the dollar index was flat and gold and silver pulled back, leaving crypto without a clear macro catalyst for its next directional move.