Bitcoin rebounds as crypto markets remain steady despite renewed Middle East conflict
Bitcoin climbed 1.2% to around $63,000 on Thursday, while Nasdaq 100 futures surged 2.6%, showing that investors appeared relatively unfazed by fresh U.S. airstrikes against Iran. BTC has now gained approximately 9% since the end of June.
The crypto market recovered from a mid-week slowdown, with Bitcoin rising 1.2% from the start of the UTC session and Ethereum advancing 0.75% to around $1,755.
The move mirrored gains across U.S. equities, where Nasdaq 100 futures strengthened over the past 24 hours despite rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
U.S. Central Command announced that American forces had carried out strikes against 90 military targets in Iran, shortly after President Donald Trump declared that the ceasefire agreement had ended.
Although markets initially reacted with a sell-off, cryptocurrencies showed resilience, recovering from oversold levels and continuing their positive momentum that began at the start of the month.
Bitcoin is now trading about 9% above its June closing price, while several altcoins have delivered even stronger performances. Tokens such as Light (LIT) and ether.fi (ETHFI) have advanced roughly 35% over the same period.
Crypto derivatives market remains cautious
The cryptocurrency futures market appears to be taking a pause after recent volatility, with 24-hour trading volume falling nearly 20% to approximately $191 billion. Open interest remained steady near $106 billion.
Bitcoin’s move back toward $63,000 coincided with a decline in open interest across major dollar- and USDT-denominated futures, dropping from 272,000 BTC to 266,000 BTC. The contrast between rising prices and falling open interest suggests traders are avoiding aggressive leveraged positions amid uncertain global conditions.
Similar patterns were observed in futures markets for Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
Meanwhile, futures open interest for Canton Network’s CC token increased for the third consecutive session, reaching 271 million tokens — its highest level since May 31. However, the token continued to decline, indicating that much of the new futures activity may be coming from traders opening short positions.
Activity in perpetual futures linked to the S&P 500 also increased, with open interest reaching its highest level since SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut nearly a month ago.
Bitcoin and Ethereum’s 30-day implied volatility indexes declined again after a two-day rise, suggesting renewed options supply and expectations of calmer price movements.
On Deribit, put options for BTC and ETH remain more expensive than call options across all timeframes, showing continued demand for downside protection. This differs from Wall Street sentiment, where S&P 500 options markets are showing unusually strong demand for call options and bullish exposure.
Altcoins extend recent gains
LIT and ETHFI led Thursday’s altcoin gains, rising 5.6% and 8.5%, respectively, since midnight UTC and extending rallies that began last week.
Ethena (ENA) also showed renewed strength, climbing 5.6% from Wednesday’s lows. Despite the recovery, the token remains down more than 91% from its September 2025 peak as investor interest in the yield-focused DeFi project declined.
WLFI, the token linked to the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial project, continued to struggle despite the broader market rebound, slipping another 0.5% on Thursday. The token is also trading roughly 90% below its record high.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index edged higher by one point to 47/100, likely helped by gains among DeFi-related assets. However, the indicator remains subdued as investors continue waiting for stronger recoveries from major cryptocurrencies before shifting into a more aggressive altcoin strategy.
