What to Know

  • Bitcoin recently traded around $64,000 after rising from $62,600 to $64,600 on Monday.
  • BTC has dropped 0.6% since midnight UTC, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1.1% as bond yields and oil prices rose.
  • Brent crude returned to $94 a barrel after a 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire expired Monday without a deal.
  • The Federal Reserve is due to release minutes from its July 28-29 FOMC meeting on Wednesday.
  • President Donald Trump is expected to meet crypto industry executives at the White House on Wednesday.
  • Bitcoin futures positioning shows a bullish tilt, with longs accounting for over 51% of taker flow.
  • Annualized perpetual funding rates for BTC surged to a 20-month high, while open interest remains near 750,000 BTC.
  • Ether fell around 1% since midnight UTC, while SUI, XLM and TAO also declined.
  • Options activity on Deribit continues to lean toward upside BTC bets, led by the $70,000 call expiring Sept. 25.

Bitcoin Pauses After Monday’s Rally

Bitcoin is holding near $64,000 after giving back part of Monday’s advance, as macro pressure from higher yields and firmer oil prices cooled risk appetite across markets. BTC recently traded around $64,000, after moving from $62,600 to $64,600 on Monday. Since midnight UTC, the largest cryptocurrency has declined 0.6%, tracking a softer tone in Nasdaq 100 futures, which fell 1.1% as U.S. Treasury bond yields and crude prices moved higher.

The pullback does not yet mark a decisive break from bitcoin’s recent range-bound pattern, but it highlights how closely crypto remains tied to broader risk sentiment. When yields rise, the relative appeal of speculative assets can weaken because investors have more incentive to hold interest-bearing instruments. That dynamic often weighs on technology shares and can spill into digital assets, especially when traders are already positioned for a continuation of gains.

BTC’s pause comes at a sensitive moment for markets. Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve’s minutes from the July 28-29 FOMC meeting, due Wednesday, after two consecutive softer inflation prints. The minutes may offer more detail on how policymakers are weighing inflation progress against growth risks, and whether officials are leaning toward a more cautious or more accommodative path. For crypto traders, that matters because expectations around liquidity and interest rates continue to shape demand for bitcoin and other high-beta assets.

Oil Move Adds to Inflation Uncertainty

Brent crude oil rose back to $94 a barrel after a 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire expired Monday without a deal. The move added another layer of inflation uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve minutes, as energy prices can affect market expectations for inflation and central bank policy. A renewed rise in oil prices can complicate the narrative created by softer inflation data, especially if traders begin to worry that energy-driven price pressure could persist.

For bitcoin, the oil-linked inflation concern is indirect but important. BTC often trades as part of a broader risk basket during macro-sensitive periods, even though some market participants view it as a long-term hedge against currency debasement or policy uncertainty. In the short term, however, higher yields and higher energy prices can push traders to reduce exposure to volatile assets. That helps explain why bitcoin’s retreat occurred alongside the decline in Nasdaq 100 futures.

The market backdrop is therefore mixed. Softer inflation prints have encouraged expectations that policy pressure may eventually ease, but rising bond yields and crude prices have challenged that optimism. Bitcoin’s ability to hold near $64,000 despite those headwinds suggests demand remains present, though the price action has not yet shown a broad, forceful breakout across the wider crypto market.

White House Crypto Meeting Keeps Policy in Focus

Another major event for the digital asset market arrives Wednesday, when President Donald Trump is expected to attend a meeting with crypto CEOs at the White House. U.S. policy has been a key driver of crypto price action lately, contributing to bitcoin’s stop-start range-bound performance. Traders are likely to watch for any signals related to regulatory priorities, market structure, institutional participation, or the administration’s broader posture toward digital assets.

Policy developments can affect crypto prices by shaping expectations for exchange oversight, token classification, stablecoin rules, custody standards and institutional adoption. Even when meetings do not immediately produce formal policy changes, they can influence sentiment by indicating how closely policymakers are engaging with the industry. That is particularly relevant at a time when bitcoin is hovering near a widely watched price zone and derivatives positioning is showing renewed bullish activity.

Still, market participants are unlikely to treat the meeting in isolation. The same day brings the Fed minutes, which may carry significant implications for the dollar, yields, equity futures and risk appetite. As a result, bitcoin traders are facing a combination of crypto-specific and macroeconomic catalysts within a compressed window.

Derivatives Show BTC Buyer Leadership

Bitcoin derivatives data points to selective bullishness rather than a market-wide surge. The long-short taker volume ratio in crypto futures flipped decisively from neutral to bullish, with longs accounting for over 51% of flow. Takers are traders who buy or sell at available prices, removing liquidity from the order book. A tilt toward long taker flow suggests buyers have been more aggressive in chasing exposure.

Funding rates also confirm the appetite for bullish bets. Annualized perpetual funding rates for BTC surged to a 20-month high, according to CryptoQuant data. Positive funding rates mean perpetual futures are trading at a premium to the spot price, with long positions paying shorts. That structure typically reflects a bullish bias, although very elevated funding can also raise the risk of sudden pullbacks if crowded long trades begin to unwind.

Open interest in bitcoin futures remains near 750,000 BTC, a level it has largely held for weeks. The steadiness of open interest suggests the market has not seen a dramatic expansion in total outstanding futures exposure despite the recent price move. That combination of firm taker demand, elevated funding and stable open interest paints a picture of active bullish positioning, but not necessarily a full-scale leverage surge.

Altcoin Signals Remain Uneven

The broader crypto market is showing a less consistent picture. Ether lost around 1% since midnight UTC, while SUI, XLM and TAO also declined. SUI was the biggest laggard since midnight, sliding 4.62% to 64.36 cents after a stretch of relative strength through late July. FET fell 2.10% to 12.13 cents, extending underperformance among AI-adjacent tokens that have given back much of their late-July gains.

XLM showed a more clearly bearish derivatives profile. The token dropped nearly 3% to 15 cents since midnight, its lowest level since May 27, reversing a move to 27 cents at the end of May. Open interest in XLM futures rose 3.5% over the past 24 hours to the highest level since June 4, while annualized funding rates stood at -28%. Negative funding indicates a bearish tilt, and a negative 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta suggests sellers have been more aggressive through market orders.

SOL, meanwhile, saw a pickup in activity as open interest in SOL futures rose to 66.88 million tokens, the most since July 10, while funding rates remained near zero. That points to increased positioning without a strong directional funding bias. Other notable open interest gainers included CC, DOGE and SUI, even as prices for all three traded little-changed to negative. HBAR and CRO were among notable open interest losers.

The contrast across tokens reinforces the idea that bullishness is concentrated in BTC. Bitcoin shows buyer leadership with a positive 24-hour cumulative volume delta, while many other major cryptocurrencies, including ETH, SOL, LTC, LINK and DOGE, show negative cumulative volume delta. That means bitcoin is attracting more aggressive buying than much of the wider market, even as altcoin participation remains fragmented.

Options Traders Keep Looking Higher

Options flow continues to lean toward upside bitcoin exposure. On Deribit, calls struck above BTC’s spot price dominate the 24-hour volume rankings. The $70,000-strike call expiring Sept. 25 was the most-traded bitcoin option over the past 24 hours. For ether, the $2,080 call expiring Aug. 28 led activity. Heavy call demand above spot can reflect expectations for further upside, hedging needs, or structured positioning designed to capture volatility while limiting downside.

Low implied volatility is another important part of the setup. Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indexes remain at the year’s lows. Low-volatility conditions can encourage traders to build options exposure because premiums may appear more attractive compared with periods of higher expected price movement. Trading firm TDX Strategies has suggested using the low-volatility environment to build tactical positioning favoring December optionality across BTC and selected altcoins such as SOL and HYPE.

Even so, low volatility can cut both ways. Calm conditions may precede a larger move if catalysts trigger a repricing, but they can also persist while spot markets remain range-bound. With the Fed minutes and White House crypto meeting both due Wednesday, traders are likely to watch whether options activity translates into spot follow-through or remains mostly a positioning story.

Token Movers Show Pockets of Strength and Weakness

PUMP rose 1.31%, retaining part of Monday’s 7.8% surge that came alongside a 55% jump in daily trading volume to $90 million. The token has stabilized above $0.00277. XMR added 0.59% since midnight to $417, taking its seven-day gain to more than 11%. The privacy coin has stood out as one of August’s stronger performers.

LINK declined 1.45% to $9.39, retracing some of the gains that followed Standard Chartered’s prediction calling for a 2,000% rise by 2030. It remains up 8% since that forecast. The movement reflects a broader pattern in which select tokens can respond to narrative-driven catalysts, while the wider market remains sensitive to macro conditions and bitcoin leadership.

For now, bitcoin remains the center of gravity. Its resilience near $64,000, combined with bullish futures and options positioning, suggests traders are still willing to lean into upside scenarios. But the lack of broad altcoin confirmation, higher yields, firmer oil prices and event risk around Wednesday’s calendar leave the market vulnerable to choppy trading.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is bitcoin trading near $64,000?

Bitcoin is trading near $64,000 after retracing part of Monday’s rally from $62,600 to $64,600. The move comes as Nasdaq 100 futures weakened and traders monitored higher bond yields, firmer oil prices and upcoming policy events.

How much has BTC fallen since midnight UTC?

BTC has declined 0.6% since midnight UTC. The move occurred as Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1.1%, showing pressure across risk-sensitive markets.

Why are rising bond yields important for bitcoin?

Rising bond yields can pressure speculative assets because they increase the appeal of interest-bearing alternatives and can weigh on growth-oriented markets. Bitcoin often reacts to that broader risk environment, especially during macro-heavy trading sessions.

What role is Brent crude playing in the market move?

Brent crude rose back to $94 a barrel after a 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire expired Monday without a deal. Higher oil prices can add to inflation uncertainty, which matters ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes.

What is happening on Wednesday that matters for crypto?

The Federal Reserve is due to release minutes from its July 28-29 FOMC meeting on Wednesday. President Donald Trump is also expected to meet crypto industry executives at the White House the same day.

Are bitcoin derivatives traders bullish?

Bitcoin derivatives positioning shows a bullish tilt. Longs accounted for over 51% of taker flow, and annualized perpetual funding rates surged to a 20-month high, suggesting traders have been chasing bullish exposure.

Is bullish sentiment broad across crypto?

Bullishness appears selective rather than broad-based. Bitcoin is showing buyer leadership, while several major cryptocurrencies, including ETH, SOL, LTC, LINK and DOGE, show negative cumulative volume delta.

Which bitcoin option is seeing the most activity?

On Deribit, the $70,000-strike call expiring Sept. 25 was the most-traded bitcoin option over the past 24 hours. Calls above spot continue to dominate the 24-hour volume rankings.

Which altcoins are under pressure?

SUI, XLM, FET and LINK were among tokens under pressure. SUI fell 4.62% to 64.36 cents, XLM dropped nearly 3% to 15 cents, FET shed 2.10% to 12.13 cents, and LINK declined 1.45% to $9.39.

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