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Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin traded near $63,170, up about 6% for the week despite Strategy selling 3,588 BTC for roughly $216 million
- CME Bitcoin futures open interest hit a 32-month low, with derivatives traders citing thinning institutional activity
- Rising oil prices and an Asian tech stock selloff added macro uncertainty as Bitcoin held steady
Bitcoin traded around $63,170 on Tuesday after touching $64,400 overnight, a round trip that left the token roughly flat on the day but still up about 6% for the week. The move held despite Strategy’s disclosure that it sold 3,588 BTC for approximately $216 million, its largest sale since abandoning its buy-and-hold-only stance.
Strategy’s Sale Fails to Break the Recovery
The market largely absorbed Strategy’s disclosure without disrupting Bitcoin’s rebound from a 21-month low near $58,000 reached at the end of June. That low followed a first half in which Bitcoin closed down roughly 20%, marking its first weekly close below the 200-week moving average, a long-term trend line, since 2023.
Ether traded near $1,770, up 11.6% on the week. XRP and Solana held most of their weekly gains at $1.13 and $80, respectively, with most major tokens little changed on the day after leading the prior week’s advance.
Derivatives Traders Point to Signs of a Late-Stage Washout
Some derivatives traders see the recent decline as a late-stage flush rather than an early warning sign.
Yusuf Fakhro, partner at ARP Digital, said institutional futures activity has thinned sharply, with CME Bitcoin futures open interest at a 32-month low and the futures term structure at its tightest since early 2023, stating:
“The institutional bid has all but vanished.”
Fakhro added that six-month options skew, a measure of how much traders pay for downside protection, has climbed to its fourth-highest level on record, with the only comparable periods occurring in June and November 2022, both near major cycle lows. He said the elevated cost of that protection could indicate the market is pricing in a bottom rather than anticipating further declines.
A Fresh Strike Near the Strait of Hormuz Lifts Oil Prices
Oil prices rose after a laden liquefied natural gas carrier was struck by a projectile near the Omani coast while exiting the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude gained 0.6% to about $72.45 a barrel following the attack, which occurred amid a peace deal reached in late June.
Energy shocks tied to the Iran conflict had weighed on crypto markets earlier this year, a pressure that eased after the June truce. Analysts said a renewed escalation could reintroduce that macro risk.
Asian Tech Shares Slide Amid Broader Selloff
Asian equities fell as technology shares came under renewed pressure, with South Korea’s Kospi index down 6.7%. Samsung Electronics dropped 8.3% despite reporting a surge in quarterly profit, and SK Hynix fell by a similar margin as it began marketing a U.S. stock listing. U.S. equity futures pointed lower ahead of Tuesday’s session, following Monday’s rebound on Wall Street.
For much of the year, weakness in AI and semiconductor stocks had coincided with declines in crypto prices, according to market analysts. This week, the two markets diverged, with Bitcoin holding steady even as Asian tech shares declined.
Traders are watching whether that divergence continues and whether Bitcoin ETF inflows build from current levels. The renewed escalation near the Strait of Hormuz adds another factor to a macro backdrop that has not fully cleared since affecting crypto markets earlier this year.
