Bitcoin traded just below $65,000 on Friday as the broader crypto market posted gains despite a sharp jump in oil prices, with Brent crude climbing toward $100 amid continued tensions surrounding Iran.
The cryptocurrency market finished the week with a positive tone, as Bitcoin advanced as much as 1.1% from midnight UTC to $65,760. The move showed resilience as digital assets held steady despite a challenging global macro backdrop.
Brent crude futures rose to $97.66 per barrel, reaching their highest level since May as the Iran conflict showed no signs of calming. Historically, major oil price spikes have pressured risk assets such as crypto, but digital currencies remained mostly in positive territory during the session.
Ethereum also gained momentum, rising as much as 1.6%, while other major tokens including Hyperliquid and Fetch.ai climbed more than 2%.
Meanwhile, traditional markets remained relatively stable. Futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edged slightly higher, gold stayed above the $4,000 level, and the U.S. Dollar Index moved modestly lower.
Crypto derivatives show mixed positioning
Trading activity increased across crypto derivatives markets, but the rise appeared driven more by market rotation than by a major increase in directional bets. Total volume climbed 11% over the past 24 hours to $165 billion, while open interest remained steady near $116 billion.
Dogecoin showed signs of growing bearish positioning, with DOGE futures open interest nearing 16 billion tokens, its highest level since October. The increase came as DOGE’s spot price remained under pressure after dropping to its lowest point since November 2023. Rising open interest combined with falling prices typically indicates traders are building short positions.
Ethereum futures activity also increased, with open interest reaching 14.53 million ETH, the highest level since June 7. However, indicators offered conflicting signals. Positive funding rates pointed to continued bullish demand, while negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggested sellers were dominating market orders.
Across the broader market, most major tokens recorded negative 24-hour CVD readings, with only TRX and CRO avoiding the broader selling trend.
Volatility conditions improved slightly for Bitcoin traders. The Bitcoin volatility index tracking 30-day implied volatility declined 3% to 39%, ending a five-day rise. Ethereum’s implied volatility measure also weakened.
The Bitcoin options market on Deribit showed strong bullish positioning, with roughly $5 billion in open interest concentrated around $70,000-$72,000 strike prices. Call options dominated the activity, with additional upside interest visible around $77,000 and $80,000 strikes.
Altcoins show selective recovery
Hyperliquid led the altcoin market for a second straight session, gaining 2.4% to $58.93 as the token continued its recovery after falling from July record highs.
AI-focused tokens also showed signs of stabilization, with Fetch.ai rising 2.23% and NEAR Protocol adding 1.38% after weeks of weaker performance. DeFi token Morpho increased 1.89%, continuing one of the stronger runs among decentralized finance assets this month.
World Liberty Financial slipped 2.13%, giving back part of Thursday’s 12% rally. The token has continued to experience sharp price swings due to limited market liquidity.
Lighter dropped another 1.32%, extending its decline and wiping out nearly 20% from its July high following a more than 200% surge between May and early July.
Despite Friday’s broader recovery, the overall market picture remained uneven. WLFI, AVAX, HBAR, and SUI were among the tokens that fell between 4% and 10% over 24 hours, showing that weakness remains across parts of the altcoin market.
