Bitcoin is trying to recover the $61,000 level after sliding as far as $57,737, a 21-month low. But leverage positions are clustered around current prices, and it has not been confirmed whether the $57,000 range was the real bottom.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Tuesday that bitcoin rose as high as $60,200 at one point. The intraday low was $57,737.

Prices have rebounded, but market sentiment remains frozen. The crypto fear and greed index is at 11, staying in the "extreme fear" zone. Bitcoin is still down by about one-third from the start of the year.

Spot flows and on-chain trends diverged. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen more outflows than inflows in recent weeks, with June net outflows tallied at $4.5 billion. That is the largest since the products launched. By contrast, long-term holders accumulated about 270,000 BTC over the past two weeks. That suggests some long-term investors see the recent drop as a buying opportunity rather than a sell signal.

A metric that the short-term market watches more sensitively is futures funding rates. The figure stayed positive for three straight days. That means bullish bets kept coming in even as prices set lower lows. In such conditions, if prices weaken, volatility could rise as liquidations increase when moves go in the opposite direction.

A liquidation heatmap combining the past week of data from three major exchanges showed a similar picture. Leverage positions were thickest broadly between $57,000 and $60,500. That band overlaps with bitcoin's trading range since late June. By contrast, position density fell noticeably above $61,000 to $62,000 and below $55,000 to $56,000.

That structure means potential forced-liquidation supply is concentrated near current prices. If bitcoin breaks above about $61,000 at the top, or falls below $56,000 at the bottom, positions could unwind more quickly.

Short-term direction remains close to neutral. To view the trend as having changed, bitcoin would need to rise alongside an increase in leverage positions. Current data do not yet show such a shift. Even if attempts to regain the $61,000 range continue, the market is likely to gauge whether the bottom is in place by watching ETF outflows and derivatives crowding together.