Bitcoin hovered near a three-week high, but escalating U.S.–Iran tensions capped the upside triggered by Tuesday’s softer-than-expected inflation data.

Bitcoin (BTC) at $65,260 and ether (ETH) traded sideways through Asian and European hours after rallying on weaker U.S. CPI figures.

Despite holding gains of over 3% in the past 24 hours, bitcoin slipped 0.6% since midnight UTC as concerns intensified over tanker movements in the Strait of Hormuz. It had earlier touched a three-week peak around $65,200.

Ether followed a similar path, remaining up roughly 5% on the day even after a 0.8% dip since midnight. It hit $1,895 on Tuesday, its highest level since June 3.

U.S. equity futures also moved higher, with Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.53% and S&P 500 futures gaining 0.22%.

In altcoins, pockets of strength emerged. PUMP advanced 8.5% since midnight as investors absorbed a token unlock, pointing to solid demand.

Derivatives positioning
Bitcoin derivatives metrics remained largely unchanged. Open interest edged up to $17.3 billion, though the increase was not significant. The three-month annualized basis stayed at 3.8%, while funding rates held within a 0%–8% annualized range across exchanges, signaling ongoing consolidation.

Options sentiment turned more constructive, with the 24-hour call/put ratio rising to 66/34 from 58/42 previously. The one-week delta skew held steady near 15%. The at-the-money term structure remained in contango, with short-term implied volatility around 32%–33% and longer-term levels near 42.5% through mid-2027—indicating a stable volatility backdrop with a mild bullish bias.

Coinglass data showed $357 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, dominated by shorts at 81% versus 19% for longs. Ethereum led with $132 million in liquidations, followed by bitcoin at $118 million. Binance’s liquidation heatmap points to $63,500 as a key downside level to monitor.

Token trends
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index dropped to 46/100, reflecting the relative outperformance of bitcoin and ether.

WLFI slipped about 1% since midnight, dragging on the index despite broader market stability.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) continued to outperform, gaining 4% since midnight and extending its pattern of higher highs and higher lows, with a potential move toward a new all-time high above $78.

Meanwhile, LIT—HYPE’s rival—lost momentum after a strong rally, rising just 0.5% as profit-taking emerged near its record high of $2.76.

Zcash (ZEC) also stood out, jumping more than 10% over the past day before consolidating around $557.