Crypto markets continued to climb Tuesday as the U.S. dollar weakened after remarks from Donald Trump suggested the conflict involving Iran could end soon, though Bitcoin remains stuck in a broader downward trend.
Bitcoin gained about 3.9% since midnight UTC, trading near $71,000, while Ethereum reclaimed the $2,000 level — a threshold it had struggled to sustain in recent sessions.
The move higher wasn’t limited to crypto. U.S. equities and precious metals also advanced after Trump indicated the war in Iran could conclude “very soon.” At the same time, both the dollar and oil prices pulled back, surrendering a portion of the gains they recorded over the past week.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) briefly reached 99.7 on Monday before falling back to around 98.5. Because crypto assets often move inversely to the dollar, continued weakness in the index could open the door for a stronger bitcoin rally later this week.
The Iran conflict — which now appears likely to be shorter than many initially feared — has also highlighted growing resilience in crypto markets. Since the conflict began, bitcoin has outperformed equities and precious metals, potentially strengthening its narrative as a safe-haven asset during periods of geopolitical uncertainty.
Even with the latest rally, however, the broader technical picture remains challenging. Bitcoin and the wider crypto market have been in a downtrend since early October, marked by a sequence of lower highs and lower lows. To reverse that structure, bitcoin would likely need to push toward the $98,000 level while establishing solid support zones along the way.
Derivatives positioning
Derivatives markets show signs of fresh capital entering the space as prices move higher.
Open interest in futures tied to HYPE — one of the best-performing tokens over the past day — climbed 14% to $1.41 billion, according to data from Coinglass. Total open interest rose above 40 million HYPE, though it still sits close to recent lows.
For both bitcoin and ethereum, futures open interest has increased by more than 5%, rising faster than spot prices — a signal that traders are opening new positions as the rally unfolds.
Meanwhile, futures open interest tied to Tether Gold (XAUT) has continued to decline, dropping below 110,000 XAUT. The move suggests investors may be rotating capital away from gold-linked assets that previously outperformed.
Perpetual funding rates across most tokens remain slightly positive, indicating a modest dominance of bullish positioning. However, tokens such as Zcash and Sui still show negative funding rates.
Most major cryptocurrencies — excluding Bitcoin Cash, Monero and Tether Gold — have seen strong buying pressure, reflected in positive open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume deltas.
At the same time, 30-day implied volatility indices for bitcoin and ethereum — BVIV and EVIV — have declined by more than 4%, indicating traders are pricing in less uncertainty after oil dropped back below $100.
Still, options data from Deribit shows protective put options remain more expensive than bullish calls across most time frames. Market-maker positioning suggests volatility could rise sharply if bitcoin breaks above $75,000.
Recent block trades included demand for bitcoin straddles — a strategy designed to profit from volatility — along with call spreads that signal bullish sentiment. In ethereum markets, traders were actively buying risk reversals.
Token talk
Altcoins also posted notable gains Tuesday. The Jupiter (JUP) token, tied to a Solana-based decentralized exchange, recorded a double-digit rise since midnight UTC.
The restaking token Ether.fi (ETHFI) climbed about 6.5%, reaching its highest level since Jan. 29.
Meanwhile, HYPE — the native token of derivatives platform HyperLiquid — posted only a modest gain of roughly 0.5% since midnight. The subdued move came despite bullish remarks from Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX, who predicted in a blog post Monday that the token could eventually reach $150. HYPE currently trades near $34.8, with most of its gains occurring earlier Monday before Trump’s comments.
Among major benchmarks, the CoinDesk 5 (CD5) and CoinDesk 10 (CD10) indexes — both heavily weighted toward bitcoin and ethereum — led the market, each rising about 4.3% over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk DeFi Select Index (DFX) followed closely with a 4% gain.
Memecoins lagged behind the broader market. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) posted the smallest advance, rising roughly 2.6% during the same period
