TL;DR
- Bitcoin fell back toward $64,000 after failing again near $65,400, as fading Hormuz optimism, Strategy’s latest BTC sale and CPI data pressured sentiment.
- Strategy sold 1,690 BTC, marking a fourth consecutive weekly reduction, while futures volume jumped 51% and bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility rose to 38.64%.
- XRP slipped to a 21-month low just above $1 as open interest climbed 14%, while the broader crypto market lost $40 billion in value.
Bitcoin slipped back toward $64,000 on Tuesday after another attempt to hold above $65,000 failed, while XRP hovered just above the psychologically important $1 level. BTC traded near $64,293, down 1.68% over 24 hours, after sellers rejected another move toward $65,400. The market’s unease reflects more than ordinary profit-taking, with geopolitical uncertainty, corporate bitcoin sales and looming inflation data converging at once. Hopes for progress around the Strait of Hormuz faded after President Donald Trump demanded 50 years of compensation from Iran, helping Brent crude rise to $89.08, as risk sentiment weakened ahead of Wednesday.
Strategy selling and XRP weakness deepen market pressure
Bitcoin’s latest pullback follows several days of failed attempts to convert $65,000 into durable support. The asset briefly fell to $63,800 before stabilizing around $64,000, pushing its market capitalization below $1.29 trillion while dominance remained above 57%. Strategy’s continued selling has added another source of pressure at a moment when traders already appear reluctant to extend risk. The company sold another 1,690 BTC on Monday, marking its fourth consecutive weekly reduction, and has not purchased bitcoin since June, leaving the market to absorb supply alongside renewed macro uncertainty through an already fragile trading backdrop overall.
Derivatives data reinforces that cautious tone. Crypto futures volume jumped 51% to $143.15 billion over 24 hours, but total open interest stayed near $115.6 billion, suggesting heavy turnover without a decisive build in fresh positioning. Long and short taker volumes returned to an almost even split after leaning bullish a day earlier. Bitcoin volatility is also stirring from unusually compressed levels, with 30-day implied volatility rising nearly 5% to 38.64% as spot prices retreated. One-week call skew weakened as well, potentially signaling greater downside demand before Wednesday’s U.S. CPI report across major derivatives venues today.
XRP has suffered even more visible pressure. The token fell to a 21-month low just above $1, putting it close to losing that level for the first time since November 2024. Futures open interest climbed 14% to 2.72 billion tokens, the highest since October, while negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta showed aggressive selling despite slightly positive funding. The broader market is showing selective weakness rather than a uniform collapse. Ether dropped below $1,900, ADA and ZEC fell sharply, and total crypto capitalization lost about $40 billion to $2.25 trillion, while several tokens still posted gains.
