Bitcoin Falls Below 70,000 USDT on OKX Data
Coinglass data showed funding rates across centralized and decentralized exchanges turned broadly bearish on March 19 as Bitcoin dropped sharply, adding another derivatives signal to the wider crypto market sell-off.
Bitcoin’s downturn on March 19 extended from earlier breaks below 72,000, 71,000, and then 70,000 USDT, with broader market stress now accompanied by bearish funding-rate signals in derivatives markets. Coinglass data showed funding rates on both CEXs and DEXs turned broadly bearish as Bitcoin fell rapidly, with the report noting that rates below 0.005% indicate a generally bearish market and 0.01% is the benchmark rate. Earlier updates had already shown nearly $600 million in leveraged crypto positions liquidated, total crypto futures open interest falling 5.6% to $106.9 billion, and Ethereum dropping to $2,160 during the wider sell-off.
- USDT: Tether’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, widely used as a trading pair on crypto exchanges.
- liquidations: Forced closures of leveraged trading positions when losses exceed margin requirements, often accelerating market moves.
- funding rates: Periodic payments between long and short perpetual futures traders that reflect market positioning; lower or negative readings can signal bearish sentiment.