Bitcoin slid to around $62,000 as oil surged and investors stayed cautious about the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Cointelegraph reported on July 8 that bitcoin traded in the $62,000 range, down about 2 percent over 24 hours. A risk-off move in global financial markets also weighed on the cryptocurrency market.

The pullback was attributed more to macro conditions and reduced futures positions than to crypto-specific issues. Semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks plunged, while oil rose about 5 percent as military tensions between the United States and Iran intensified, quickly cooling investors' appetite for risk assets.

Markets also watched the release of the Fed's June meeting minutes. Markets currently price in about a 73 percent chance that the benchmark rate will be kept unchanged at the next meeting scheduled for July 29. Investors appear more sensitive to the tone of the minutes on inflation and the rate path than to a hold itself.

Order-flow conditions also shifted sharply in a single day. Cumulative volume delta for bitcoin futures and spot showed net buying on July 7 as bitcoin rose above $64,000. Around $585 million in futures and about $119 million in spot combined for net buying of about $705 million.

But sentiment reversed on July 8. Traders moved to cut positions, citing higher oil prices, selling in semiconductor stocks and uncertainty ahead of the Fed minutes. Futures-market selling rose to about $500 million, and the spot market showed about $86 million in selling. That reaffirmed that the push behind the price rebound relied more on futures than on spot.

Derivatives indicators pointed in the same direction. Bitcoin funding rates and open interest both fell. On a weekly basis, however, funding rates remained positive, leaving a signal that it was too early to conclude the broader market direction had fully turned.

Liquidations were not large, but they were skewed to one side. Most forced liquidations on July 8 occurred in long positions. Long liquidations were about $47 million, while short liquidations were about $4 million. Hyblock data showed a large concentration of long positions near $61,000. If bitcoin falls to that level, forced selling could amplify additional short-term losses.

Even so, buying has not disappeared completely. Bulls tried to absorb declines at $60,000 and below, and spot-market inflows and buying of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) showed investment demand remained around current prices.

Still, the main fuel for recent price moves remained the futures market. In this structure, prices can swing quickly when market conviction weakens.

Investor sentiment has yet to improve. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index showed market sentiment remained in the "fear" zone. Strategy's recent sale of 3,588 BTC was also cited as a burden. With bitcoin below the company's average purchase price of $74,582, the market is wary that Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, could repeatedly sell.

In the end, short-term variables narrow to 3 factors. They are whether Middle East-driven geopolitical risks will push oil higher, whether the Fed minutes will weaken expectations for rate cuts, and whether bitcoin can defend the long-liquidation zone around $61,000. Spot demand and ETF buying remain a downside support factor, but short-term price direction is likely to depend more on how long the risk-reduction move in the futures market continues.