Technology and Gold Sell-offs Pressure Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin Drops to $68,000

equities and price corrections in precious metals.
Bitcoin (BTC) retreated to the $68,000 level, losing 1.25% as global risk appetite diminished.
During the same period, Nasdaq futures fell by 0.55%, while gold prices saw a 2.4% decline.
Strengthening Correlation Between Bitcoin and Nasdaq The sell-off in the technology sector is reportedly triggered by concerns over artificial intelligence investments and their macroeconomic implications.
Since early February, Bitcoin has begun to exhibit a close relationship with the Nasdaq.
The correlation coefficient between the two assets rose from negative 0.68 to positive 0.72 over the last two weeks, confirming that markets are moving in a tech-oriented direction.
In the altcoin market, popular memecoins led the losses.
Assets such as PEPE, DOGE, and TRUMP lost between 3.5% and 4.5% in value.
Layer Zero (ZRO), which has been in the spotlight due to institutional collaborations, lost 16% on a weekly basis despite announcing partnerships with Citadel Securities and DTCC.
Derivatives Markets and Volatility Outlook Capital outflows from crypto futures continue, with open interest volumes in PEPE, LINK, and AVAX recording drops between 3% and 5%.
Open interest in HYPE-linked futures fell to 44.45 million, the lowest level since early December, indicating that investors are engaging in profit-taking.
According to Deribit data, the sense of panic in the market has eased with a retreat in the implied volatility indices for Bitcoin and Ether.
Although put options continue to be priced higher than call options, it is observed that investor positioning is less defensive compared to two weeks ago.