Stellar’s XLM, Injective’s INJ, and Uniswap’s UNI were among the top-performing tokens in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Bitcoin (BTC) advanced after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 31-year high, rising from about $65,600 in Asian trading to above $66,500 during European hours.
The leading cryptocurrency gained 1.5% over the past 24 hours, extending its rebound from a June 5 low below $60,000, while several altcoins delivered even stronger gains.
XLM, INJ, and UNI climbed between 13% and 16%, ranking among the strongest performers in the large-cap segment. UNI’s move followed Standard Chartered’s initiation of coverage and a long-term price target of $100 by 2030.
At the weaker end, memecoin SIREN extended its slide, dropping another 21% in 24 hours and deepening its monthly loss to 77%. Blockchain analysts on X attributed the selloff to a large holder reportedly unloading tokens equivalent to about 92% of supply.
Derivatives positioning
Crypto markets showed renewed risk appetite, with 24-hour trading volume rising 51% to $207 billion. Open interest increased 2.4% to $113.41 billion, while liquidations jumped 64% to $561 million, with shorts accounting for most forced exits.
Leverage is returning to the system. Bitcoin futures open interest rose to 747,000 BTC, marking a third consecutive daily increase and the highest level since June 4. Funding rates near zero and positive open interest-adjusted CVD suggest a balanced recovery rather than overheated speculation.
Ethereum futures open interest also increased to 14.20 million ETH from a recent low of 13.64 million, indicating gradual improvement in positioning.
Among major altcoins, Litecoin (LTC) stood out, with open interest rising 6.6% to 6.86 million tokens over 24 hours. However, positioning remains relatively light compared with January’s peak of 9.29 million.
By contrast, TON, BCH, and HBAR saw declines in open interest, signaling capital outflows. TON was the weakest, with sentiment deteriorating despite its rebranding to GRAM, while negative flow data suggests persistent selling pressure.
Volatility and options
Volatility continues to ease. BVIV and EVIV, the 30-day implied volatility gauges for BTC and ETH, have nearly unwound the earlier spike in the month, signaling reduced fear and improving market stability.
On Deribit, Bitcoin put options between $58,000 and $64,000 saw elevated activity, including structured strategies such as put condors, indicating traders are positioning for range-bound price action rather than strong directional moves.
Token talk
Avalanche (AVAX) drew the most attention during Monday’s rally, but sentiment turned increasingly negative. The ratio of positive to negative commentary slipped to around 0.85, meaning bearish posts now outweigh bullish ones, according to Santiment.
Much of the bearish sentiment is tied to concerns that Avalanche is losing momentum to faster-growing ecosystems like Solana and Sui, particularly in developer activity and user adoption.
AVAX is trading around $6.88, near the lower end of its recent range and well below the ~$10 level seen a month earlier.
However, analysts point to a potential contrarian signal, as extreme pessimism has historically preceded rebounds when sentiment becomes overly one-sided. Similar dynamics were recently noted in XRP.
Despite softer price action, Avalanche fundamentals remain intact, supported by institutional partnerships, government-linked initiatives, and its subnet architecture for application-specific blockchains. The weakness appears driven more by momentum loss than structural deterioration.
