MarketsShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailBitcoin and Ether Decline as Futures Indicate Risk Appetite; XLM and HYPE Surge
Bitcoin and Ether Open June Lower Following May's Declines; U.S. Equity Futures Rise
By Sheldon Reback, Shaurya Malwa, Saksham Diwan|Edited by Sheldon Reback Jun 1, 2026, 10:04 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on
(Kanchanara/Unsplash)Key Points:
- Crypto assets began June on a low note, impacted by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
- Despite a record outflow of $2.97 billion from spot bitcoin ETFs over ten consecutive days, derivatives data reflects a slight bullish sentiment and stable open interest, indicating a recovering institutional risk appetite.
- Stellar's XLM experienced a remarkable surge of over 40% after the DTCC selected its network for a new tokenized securities platform, highlighting its significant role in the multichain tokenization strategy on Wall Street.
Market Overview
June commenced with declines in the cryptocurrency sector as escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran dampened investor sentiment. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) decreased by 2% since midnight UTC, with both Bitcoin BTC$72,651.09 and Ether (ETH) experiencing approximately 1% losses.
Currently priced at $72,700, Bitcoin has seen a downturn for six out of the last seven days, following a 3.5% decline in May, a month that typically yields positive returns. Historical data from Coinglass indicates an average increase of 7.4% for Bitcoin in May. Notably, there was a record withdrawal of $2.97 billion from spot Bitcoin ETFs over ten consecutive days.
The CoinDesk DeFi Select Index was the day's worst performer, dropping 2.6% since midnight, with all six of its components declining. Ondo Finance’s ONDO token fell 2.8%, marking a total loss of 17% since the unexpected passing of its founder, Nathan Allman, last week.
In contrast, Hyperliquid's HYPE token gained 1.26% since midnight, achieving a record high of $73.94 after five consecutive days of increases, as new capital flowed into recently launched ETFs based on the token.
U.S. stock market indices mirrored Friday’s performance, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 micro-futures both rising by about 0.2%.
Derivatives Market Positioning
- Open interest for Bitcoin stands at $19.5 billion, remaining stable from the previous week, with speculative positions largely unchanged.
- Funding rates are positive across various platforms, ranging from 0% to 10% annually, with the previous spike on Deribit returning to normal levels. The three-month annualized basis has increased to 2.8%, up from 2.2% last week, indicating a slight uptick in institutional risk appetite.
- Options positioning appears somewhat bullish, with put/call volume over the last 24 hours at a ratio of 61/39 favoring calls, while the one-week 25-delta skew is at 12.3%, slightly down from 12.4% last week. Front-end implied volatility (DVOL) has risen to 37 from recent lows, suggesting easing compression. The one-month to six-month term structure remains in contango, with markets pricing in near-term stability alongside longer-term uncertainty.
- Coinglass reports $282 million in liquidations over 24 hours, with a 60-40 split between long and short positions. Leading liquidations were ETH ($59 million) and BTC ($48 million).
- The Binance liquidation heatmap highlights $72,280 as a critical liquidation point to observe in the event of a price decline.
Token Insights
- Stellar's XLM surged 40.4% in just 24 hours, reaching $0.2862 and increasing its market cap to over $9.6 billion. This rally followed an announcement on May 27 that the DTCC, a central clearinghouse for Wall Street, would integrate its tokenized securities platform with Stellar's network in the first half of 2027.
- This partnership makes Stellar the first public blockchain to participate in the DTCC's multichain tokenization strategy.
- Open interest in XLM perpetual contracts rose by 10.9%, reaching approximately $361 million amid this rally, with around $12 million in liquidations occurring during the rise. The increase in open interest alongside rising spot volume indicates new long positions rather than short covering, despite the underlying short squeeze.
- Spot turnover for XLM reached about $2.3 billion, a 34% increase, demonstrating genuine demand rather than merely a liquidity spike. XLM outperformed all other top-20 tokens during this period.
- This breakout has cleared a descending channel that had constrained the token since late last year, with the rally originating from long-term support around $0.14, overcoming previous resistance levels at $0.20 and $0.26.
- The DTCC manages over $114 trillion in assets and processes approximately $2.5 quadrillion in securities transactions annually, positioning Stellar's selection as central to how Wall Street will transition tokenized stocks, ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries onto a public blockchain.
- This collaboration is based on the SEC's December 2025 No-Action Letter, which permits the firm to tokenize real-world assets it holds, with testing expected to begin in July, broader rollout in October, and full availability anticipated in the first half of next year.
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- STRC's dividend rate has remained unchanged at 11.5% after the stock's monthly VWAP reached $99.62, allowing the company to keep shares trading near their $100 target par value.
- Maintaining STRC near par is crucial for the company's ability to issue shares through its ATM program, which is vital for generating capital for bitcoin purchases and managing debt.