Stellar’s XLM, Injective’s INJ, and Uniswap’s UNI were among the strongest performers in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 31-year high, moving from around $65,600 in Asian trading to above $66,500 during European hours.
The largest cryptocurrency rose 1.5% over the past 24 hours, extending its recovery from a June 5 low below $60,000. Several altcoins delivered even stronger gains.
XLM, INJ, and UNI climbed between 13% and 16%, ranking among the top gainers in the large-cap crypto segment. UNI’s strength followed Standard Chartered’s initiation of coverage on the token, along with a long-term price target of $100 by 2030.
On the downside, memecoin SIREN extended its losses, falling another 21% in 24 hours and deepening its monthly decline to 77%. Blockchain analysts on X linked the drop to a large holder reportedly unloading tokens representing around 92% of supply.
Derivatives positioning
Crypto markets showed renewed risk appetite as 24-hour trading volume surged 51% to $207 billion. Open interest rose 2.4% to $113.41 billion, while liquidations jumped 64% to $561 million, with shorts making up the majority of forced exits.
Leverage is also returning. Bitcoin futures open interest climbed to 747,000 BTC, marking a third straight daily increase and the highest level since June 4. Funding rates near zero and a positive 24-hour open interest-adjusted CVD suggest a more balanced recovery rather than excessive speculation.
Ethereum futures open interest also rose to 14.20 million ETH from a recent low of 13.64 million, indicating a modest improvement in positioning.
Among major altcoins, Litecoin (LTC) stood out with open interest rising 6.6% to 6.86 million tokens in 24 hours. However, overall positioning remains subdued and still well below January’s peak of 9.29 million.
In contrast, TON, BCH, and HBAR saw declines in open interest, signaling capital outflows. TON was the weakest, with sentiment deteriorating despite its rebranding to GRAM, while negative cumulative volume delta shows aggressive selling pressure.
Volatility and options
Volatility conditions continue to stabilize. BVIV and EVIV, the 30-day implied volatility measures for BTC and ETH, have nearly reversed the earlier monthly spike, reflecting fading fear and improving sentiment.
On Deribit, Bitcoin put options between $58,000 and $64,000 saw elevated activity, including put condor structures, suggesting traders are positioning for range-bound conditions rather than strong directional moves.
Token talk
Avalanche (AVAX) attracted the most discussion during Monday’s market rally, but sentiment turned increasingly negative. The ratio of positive to negative commentary fell to around 0.85, meaning bearish posts now outnumber bullish ones, according to Santiment.
Much of the negativity centers on concerns that Avalanche is losing ground to faster-growing ecosystems such as Solana and Sui in terms of developer activity and user growth.
AVAX trades around $6.88, near the lower end of its recent range and well below the ~$10 level seen a month ago.
However, analysts note a potential contrarian signal, as extreme negative sentiment has historically preceded rebounds when positioning becomes overly bearish. Similar arguments were recently made in relation to XRP.
Despite weak momentum, Avalanche’s fundamentals remain intact, supported by institutional partnerships, government-related projects, and its subnet architecture for app-specific blockchains. The current weakness appears driven more by momentum loss than structural issues.
