Bitcoin started the week on unstable footing, briefly breaking above $82,400 before retreating below $81,000 as traders repositioned around the CME futures open and geopolitical tensions dampened risk appetite.

The rally unfolded late Sunday, with BTC rising from roughly $80,670 at 23:00 UTC to an intraday high near $82,400 within the hour. The move proved short-lived, with prices quickly pulling back and settling into a tighter range just under $81,000.

The timing of the volatility coincided with the reopening of CME bitcoin futures and U.S. equity futures, a period often marked by heavy positioning activity and the formation of “CME gaps,” where prices reopen at levels different from their previous close.

Across the broader market, sentiment turned slightly negative. The CoinDesk 100 index declined around 1.5%, while the CoinDesk 5, which is more heavily weighted toward bitcoin, fell about 0.6%.

Geopolitical concerns added to the cautious tone. U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Iran’s response to a peace proposal, pushing oil prices and the U.S. dollar higher while weighing on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Derivatives data suggests momentum remains subdued. Total crypto futures open interest has held just above $130 billion for four consecutive days, pointing to limited new leverage entering the market.

At the same time, over $400 million in leveraged positions were liquidated across centralized exchanges, with short positions accounting for the majority of the losses.

Altcoin activity showed pockets of strength. SUI stood out, with open interest rising 29%, reinforcing its recent price gains and indicating growing demand for bullish positioning, supported by positive funding rates and strong trading flows.

DOGE and HBAR also recorded increases in open interest, while BTC and ETH futures positioning remained largely unchanged. In contrast, ZEC saw a 6% drop in open interest, suggesting capital outflows from the privacy-focused asset.

Despite key U.S. inflation reports, including CPI and PPI, scheduled for later this week, volatility expectations remain muted. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility is hovering near three-month lows, signaling a relatively calm options market.

On Deribit, call options in the $81,000 to $86,000 range dominate trading volumes, reflecting a bullish bias. Meanwhile, strategies such as long call condors point to expectations for limited price movement in the near term.

Outside of bitcoin, Venice’s VVV token has delivered strong gains, more than doubling over the past month as traders responded to a combination of supply cuts, token burns, and rising demand linked to AI applications.

The rally was initially driven by increased burn rates tied to subscription tiers introduced in late April, followed by a reduction in annual emissions from 6 million to 5 million tokens on May 1, with further cuts planned.

Momentum accelerated after StrikeRobot announced plans to integrate Venice as a primary inference API backend for its robotics platforms, adding another demand catalyst.

At the same time, platform revenue has been improving, with co-founder Jesse Proudman noting that subscription and credit purchases recently reached a new record, surpassing the previous high by 10%.

Despite the recent surge, VVV remains below its January 2025 peak of $22.5, after initially falling as much as 50% following its launch amid concerns over insider-related activity tied to early buyers.