Rewritten Version:

Bitcoin briefly climbed to around $64,400 overnight before pulling back, though it still holds a weekly gain of about 6%. Meanwhile, a missile strike on a Qatari gas ship in the Strait of Hormuz lifted oil prices and raised concerns about the fragile late-June ceasefire, while Asian tech stocks declined again.

Bitcoin traded in the low $63,000 range on Tuesday after failing to maintain its move above $64,000. The retreat left it largely unchanged on the day, with prices settling near $63,170 after the earlier surge faded.

This came despite Strategy revealing it had sold 3,588 BTC—worth roughly $216 million—marking its largest sale since stepping away from its “never sell” approach. The market absorbed the sale without significantly impacting the recovery trend.

Ethereum held steady near $1,770, up 11.6% over the week, while XRP and Solana retained most of their gains, trading around $1.13 and $80. Most major cryptocurrencies showed little movement after leading the previous week’s advance.

The rebound has strengthened, though it remains somewhat fragile. Bitcoin had dropped to a 21-month low near $58,000 in late June before recovering into the low $60,000s. Despite the bounce, it ended the first half of the year down about 20%, including its first weekly close below the 200-week moving average since 2023.

Some derivatives traders interpret the recent decline as a late-stage shakeout rather than the beginning of a broader downturn.

Yusuf Fakhro, partner at ARP Digital, said institutional demand has largely faded, pointing to CME futures open interest falling to a 32-month low and a compressed term structure not seen since early 2023.

He also noted that six-month options skew—an indicator of demand for downside protection—has surged to one of its highest levels on record, suggesting traders are paying up for hedging even as the worst of the decline may already be priced in.