BTC slides to April lows as crypto decouples from record…

Bitcoin has slipped to its lowest level since early April, with Thursday's drop extending a three-week decline that followed a failed breakout above $83,000. The rejection has reinforced a pattern of lower highs stretching back to October — a textbook bear market characteristic — even as S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures push toward fresh all-time highs.

Derivatives markets are sending conflicting signals. Front-end implied volatility (DVOL) has compressed to roughly 36, the lowest since September, suggesting traders expect near-term calm. Yet one-week 25-delta put-call skew has crept up to 12.85% from 12.4%, indicating demand for downside protection is quietly building. BTC open interest sits at $20.05 billion, and Coinglass data shows $224 million in 24-hour liquidations — 54% long, 46% short — with BTC and ETH leading at $46M and $43M respectively.