Bitcoin Does Its Best Goldfish Impression: $65K And Forward Never 🚫

Bitcoin is rangebound between $64,000 and $66,800 for a third consecutive session, trading at $64,980.53 and sitting 0.62% lower since midnight UTC at $65,674 as the crypto market consolidates on Thursday. The flagship cryptocurrency has rallied more than 13% since its July 1 low of $57,750, but Tuesday's failure to break convincingly above the $66,000 resistance level has left the short-term path of least resistance pointing sideways rather than toward a fresh directional move. Bitcoin ($BTC) last changed hands at $64,980.53.

Traditional markets are providing little guidance. Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures are both marginally lower by around 0.3%, the dollar index (DXY) is broadly flat, and gold and silver are pulling back after Wednesday's safe-haven rally. That backdrop has left crypto without a clear macro tailwind or headwind.

The derivatives market is in a similar state of stasis. Twenty-four-hour futures trading volumes are down just 1% at $147 billion, with open interest holding steady around $111 billion, while the 24-hour long-short ratio tracking taker volume is nearly balanced. Open interest in bitcoin futures has slipped back to 743K $BTC from highs of more than 760K $BTC earlier this week, indicating an unwinding of existing bets as the rally stalls.

Against the subdued tape, WLFI surged 12.18% to lead the watchlist, Morpho extended its recent run with a 4% gain, and Lighter fell for a third straight session as profit-taking continued to weigh on the token following its 200% rally between May and early July. The article was reported by Oliver Knight and Omkar Godbole and edited by Jamie Crawley.