BlockBeats News, May 18th. Influenced by the tough remarks of U.S. President Trump on Iran, the crypto market and global risk assets collectively weakened. Trump stated that Iran has "little time left" and it is "best to act quickly, otherwise there will be nothing left," which drove Brent crude oil to briefly surpass $112 per barrel.

Bitcoin fell by about 2.4% to $76,500, hitting a new low since April 30th; Ethereum dropped by about 3.5% to $2,116, almost erasing all gains since April. U.S. stock futures were under pressure as well, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index futures falling by 0.3% and 0.25% respectively.

Derivatives market data shows that in the past 24 hours, the total market contract trading volume surged by 65% to $159 billion, but the open interest (OI) decreased by 1.48% to $125 billion. The liquidation amount soared by 500% to $677 million, indicating that the market is undergoing large-scale deleveraging rather than adding new directional bets.

Altcoins performed significantly weaker than major coins, with BCH falling by 10% and DOGE dropping by 4.5%. The CoinDesk Meme Index declined by 2.2%, becoming one of the worst-performing sectors.

Notably, BCH showed clear signs of "crowded short." The OI grew by 13% to 1.47 million coins, the perpetual contract funding rate dropped to an annualized -72%, the most negative level among major coins, indicating the presence of aggressive short sentiment. If sentiment reverses, it could trigger a sharp short squeeze.

In contrast, ZEC showed relatively strong performance, with OI increasing for the third consecutive day and surpassing 2 million coins. The 24-hour active buying data ranked at the forefront among major coins, and the funding rate was only about 4%, not yet entering the overheated zone. ZEC has risen by 111% this quarter, and the market believes that if the overall environment stabilizes, it still has further upside potential.

Additionally, tokens such as HYPE, CRO, and TON saw growth in open interest contracts. Except for ZEC, TON, and HYPE, most of the other top 25 tokens recorded a negative Coin Days Destroyed (CDD), indicating that the market overall is still dominated by active selling pressure.

In terms of volatility, Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) has risen from 40% to 42% since May 9th; the U.S. Treasury bond volatility index (MOVE) surged 14% last Friday, marking the largest single-day increase since March 26th. The market is concerned that the rising global financial pressure may further elevate crypto market panic.