Bitcoin Holds $65K as Iran-Oman Hormuz Whispers Send Risk Assets Into Soft Relief Mode 🛢️

Bitcoin steadied above $65,000 on Monday after reports that Iran is prepared to strike a deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz eased geopolitical jitters and lifted broader risk markets. BTC rose 0.54% to $65,209, while ether gained 0.86% to $1,925, tracking a 0.45% rise in Nasdaq 100 index futures since midnight UTC.

The altcoin market, however, remains cautiously positioned. The altcoin season indicator sits at 37/100, with capital still concentrated in bitcoin, and meaningful rotation into smaller tokens contingent on BTC breaking out of its current range toward $68,000 to $72,000. Pump.fun (PUMP) led altcoin gains at 5.39%, while total liquidations fell 32% to $85 million, signaling a market that is stabilizing rather than chasing momentum.

Derivatives data points to a modest shift in positioning. The long-short ratio for taker volume in crypto futures has flipped bullish, with longs accounting for 52% of flow. Bitcoin futures activity remains subdued, with open interest slipping back below 750K BTC, though annualized funding rates and 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD remain positive, indicating limited but bullish interest.

Ether futures continued to de-risk, with open interest falling to 13.35 million ETH, the lowest since May 3 and a significant drop from the late-May peak of 15.98 million. In contrast, SOL futures saw renewed activity, with open interest rebounding to 64.60 million tokens from a recent low near 60 million, coinciding with SOL's recovery from nearly $70 to over $76 and a break above the Ichimoku cloud.