Here’s another rewritten version with a more concise, professional market-news style:
Bitcoin steadied after Monday’s decline as traders digested fresh geopolitical risks, weakness in traditional safe-haven assets, and a sharp selloff in South Korean equities that pushed local crypto activity higher.
Bitcoin traded near $62,600 after falling from around $64,400 to $61,800 over the previous day before stabilizing.
Ether moved in a narrow range between $1,770 and $1,790, closely tracking Bitcoin’s performance. ETH trading volume increased 2.2% over 24 hours to $8.95 billion, pointing to active market participation rather than declining interest.
Lighter (LIT) recovered from its Monday drop, gaining 5.7% since the start of UTC trading as it attempts to extend its previous rally of more than 200% since May.
U.S. stock futures reflected a cautious mood. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.31%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.12% after President Donald Trump warned that Iran could face “very heavy” strikes, increasing geopolitical uncertainty.
Gold continued its pullback from January’s record high, trading near $4,020 per ounce and down roughly 28% since Jan. 29.
Derivatives market remains calm
Bitcoin futures markets showed little change, with open interest holding around $17.1 billion and the three-month annualized basis remaining at 3.8%. Funding rates across major exchanges stayed within a 0%–8% range, while Bybit’s previously negative funding rate moved back toward normal levels.
The data suggests traders have not significantly increased leverage, and derivatives markets are not showing signs of excessive stress.
Options positioning remained slightly bullish but continued to cool. The 24-hour call-to-put ratio declined to 58/42 from 64/36, while the one-week delta skew fell to about 15% from 26% last week.
The options curve remained in contango, with short-term volatility around 31%–32% and longer-dated volatility near 43%. Deribit’s DVOL index stood at 37.43, close to multi-year lows, signaling limited expectations for sharp price swings.
According to CoinGlass, crypto liquidations totaled $283 million over the past 24 hours. Long positions accounted for 74% of liquidations, while shorts represented 26%. Bitcoin led with $66 million in liquidations, followed by Ether at $50 million.
The Binance liquidation heatmap shows $61,300 as an important level to monitor if Bitcoin faces another decline.
Altcoin activity picks up
Ethena (ENA) climbed 5.7% on Tuesday, matching LIT’s rebound and leading gains among altcoins. Despite the recovery, ENA remains in a major downtrend, having lost more than 90% since its September peak.
AI-focused tokens also posted gains, with NEAR rising 3.3% and FET advancing 1.7%.
Meanwhile, Jupiter (JUP) and WLFI remained under pressure, falling 1.5% and 0.5% as trading volumes declined.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index improved to 54/100, indicating a modest recovery in appetite for alternative cryptocurrencies after remaining below 50 for much of June.
The sharp decline in South Korean stocks could become a potential catalyst for crypto markets. The KOSPI index has dropped 10% since Friday, while activity on local exchanges has surged.
Wu Blockchain reported that trading volume on Upbit jumped 1,426% following the market rout, suggesting some investors may be shifting capital back into crypto after previously rotating into semiconductor-related equities.
