Markets Bitcoin Holds Above $65,000 as Iran-Oman Deal Eases Hormuz Tensions
BTC climbed to $65,209, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.45% following reports of a potential deal between Iran and Oman regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
By Oliver Knight, Omkar Godbole| Edited by Sheldon Reback 15 min ago 3 min read Make preferred on
Bitcoin experienced a 0.54% increase, reaching $65,209, while ether rose by 0.86% to $1,925, mirroring a 0.45% uptick in Nasdaq 100 futures as news broke that Iran might finalize an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite a cautiously optimistic sentiment in the altcoin market, significant movement has yet to occur. The altcoin season indicator currently stands at 37/100, indicating that capital remains heavily invested in Bitcoin, and any shift towards smaller tokens will depend on BTC breaking out of its current price range.
In other news, Pump.fun (PUMP) led the altcoin sector with a 5.39% increase, while liquidations dropped by 32% to $85 million, suggesting a stabilizing market rather than one chasing rapid gains.
The cryptocurrency market began the week positively, with Bitcoin BTC$64,961.03 rising by 0.54% since midnight UTC to $65,209, and ether ETH$1,916.43 increasing by 0.86% to $1,925, as sentiment improved following a turbulent July.
This upward movement is linked to a 0.45% rise in Nasdaq 100 index futures, which have been buoyed by speculation regarding a potential Iran-Oman deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The altcoin market remains cautiously optimistic, awaiting Bitcoin's potential ascent into the $68,000 to $72,000 range before any capital rotation occurs.
Derivatives Positioning
- Long-Short Ratio Turns Bullish: The long-short ratio for taker volume in crypto futures has shifted bullish, with longs now constituting 52% of the flow. Takers are those who remove liquidity from the order book by trading at current prices.
- BTC Open Interest Growth Stalls: Activity in the Bitcoin futures market remains low as BTC strives to maintain above $65,000, coinciding with reduced bets on Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Open interest (OI) has fallen below 750K BTC, but positive annualized funding rates and 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggest the limited market interest is leaning towards a bullish sentiment.
- ETH Open Interest Declines: De-risking continues in Ethereum futures, with open interest dropping to 13.35 million tokens, the lowest level since May 3, down from a late-May peak of 15.98 million tokens.
- Increased Activity in SOL Futures: There has been a resurgence in SOL futures activity, with open interest rising to 64.60 million tokens from a recent low of around 60 million. This indicates fresh capital inflows, coinciding with the token's price recovery from nearly $70 to over $76, breaking above the widely monitored Ichimoku cloud and signaling a potential bullish trend reversal.
- Monero Leads Open Interest Growth: Privacy coin Monero (XMR) surged by 5% over the past 24 hours, briefly exceeding $400 for the first time since June 12. This rally appears robust, with futures open interest rising by 6% alongside price increases. The 24-hour CVD is the most favorable among major cryptocurrencies, indicating aggressive buying through market orders. Additionally, annualized funding rates are the highest among major coins at 28%, reflecting rising demand for upside exposure.
- BVIV Hits 2026 Low: Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, dropped to a year-to-date low of 35.59% over the weekend, signaling expectations of market calm, although some traders caution that put options for BTC are still priced at a premium compared to calls.
- Calls Dominate Trading Volume: In the options market, there is a noticeable bias towards Bitcoin calls at strike prices of $68,000 and $70,000, with a similar trend observed in ether options.
Token Highlights
- Pump.fun PUMP$0.002738 led the altcoin market with a 5.39% gain since midnight UTC, extending a 24-hour rally that has raised its market cap above $1.1 billion.
- Ethena (ENA) increased by 4.84% to $0.0907, continuing a steady recovery over the past two weeks, although it remains over 90% below its all-time high.
- NEAR protocol saw a 3.79% increase, while AI tokens broadly recovered, with FET rising by 2.10% after weeks of underperformance.
- Lighter (LIT) declined by 0.94%, one of the few notable altcoins in the red following July's substantial rally.
- Worldcoin WLD$0.3399 experienced a 13% gain in the last 24 hours but remains down 91% from its record high a year ago.
- CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” indicator is currently at 37/100, a significant drop from last week’s peak of 51/100, as investors concentrate on Bitcoin's potential upward movement.