Bitcoin Holds Around $67,000 as Derivatives Traders Buy Downside Hedges

Bitcoin steadied around $67,000 on Thursday, up roughly 1% over the past 24 hours after briefly slipping below $66,000 in early U.S. trading, CoinDesk data show. Crypto derivatives desks are buying downside protection and limiting upside participation, with the average U.S. bitcoin ETF cost basis near $84,000, implying about a 20% paper loss and leaving holders vulnerable to capitulation selling if prices fall further, Jake Ostrovskis, head of OTC at Wintermute, said. Altcoins lagged, with ether, XRP, BNB, DOGE and solana flat to slightly lower, while crypto-related stocks rose modestly as miners CleanSpark and MARA gained 6%. White House-hosted talks between crypto industry representatives and bankers on the digital asset market structure bill showed incremental movement, CoinDesk reports, while Chicago-based lender Blockfills is exploring a sale after a $75 million lending loss and had temporarily suspended client deposits and withdrawals last week.