As bitcoin, altcoin prices gain, derivatives signal skepticism over a sustained rally

Markets As bitcoin, altcoin prices gain, derivatives signal skepticism over a sustained rally Analysts noted bitcoin is stuck between key support near $60,000 and resistance around $68,000, and a bearish chart pattern could send prices toward $54,000. By Omkar Godbole | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jun 22, 2026, 11:05 a.m. 3 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on (geralt/Pixabay) Summary Show Bitcoin and major altcoins rose as easing oil prices and hopes for an Iran-U.S. deal provided a tailwind, though the broader market remains soft. Analysts remain cautious, noting bitcoin is stuck between key support near $60,000 and resistance around $66,000 to $68,000, with some warning a bearish chart pattern could send prices toward $54,000. Derivatives data show elevated volumes, mixed positioning and mostly negative CVD across major tokens, while options markets still favor downside protection, signaling lingering skepticism about a sustained rally. Bitcoin BTC $ 64,070.60 has risen 1.4% since midnight UTC, catching a tailwind as hopes for an Iran-U.S. deal sent oil prices lower. The move provided a lift to major altcoins, with ether (ETH) adding 2.4% and solana (SOL) and BNB advancing about 1.5%. XRP lagged with a 0.7% gain. Despite the green shoots among the majors, the broader market has yet to follow suit. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) remains slightly lower over 24 hours. Still, smaller outliers like DEXE and BEAT jumped of 8% and 5%. Monday's bounce, however, is being met with heavy skepticism from some analysts, particularly when comparing bitcoin's price with its simple moving average (SMA). "BTC has clawed back to $64K but nothing behind it. The 200-week SMA near $62.2K held the weekend dips, and that line with the $60K shelf is what separates a base from a deeper leg, while $66K to $68K caps the upside," analysts at Marx said in an email. "We buy near the 200 week and sell into resistance, we do not chase the middle," they added. This cautious stance is echoed by other chart analysts, who warn that bitcoin’s daily chart is currently carving out an "ominous bear flag." If that pattern breaks to the downside, one analyst warned the next stop could be $54,000. Derivatives positioning Bitcoin's 24-hour volume jumped 30% to $129.9 billion. Open interest (OI) held steady around $108 billion. Liquidations rose 41% to $212 million, with longs accounting for $118.4 million of the amount. BTC futures positioning has lightened notably since open interest peaked at 801K BTC on June 4. It now stands at 722K BTC, down slightly from Sunday. Ether OI shows the same pattern. XRP is the outlier. OI in the fourth-largest non-stablecoin token by market cap jumped to 2.35 billion tokens, the most since the October crash. Funding rates are marginally positive at around 4%, a combination that points to growing demand for upside exposure. On the down side, 24-hour CVD is negative, which weakens the bull case. It suggests sellers are hitting the bid with market orders and driving price action, rather than buyers passively accumulating. On the chart, XRP looks weak after a recent bear flag breakdown. SOL's OI hit a record high of 72.11 million tokens, raising the odds of a volatile move in either direction. Funding rates and OI-adjusted CVD are sending mixed signals, similar to XRP. Among the top 25 coins, only BTC, TRX and ETH show positive CVD. Nearly everything else has negative value, a sign that shorts are leading price action marketwide. BTC and ETH 30-day implied volatility indexes remain in recent ranges, signaling calm markets with no rush into options for protection or speculation. In options flow, a trader bought a bull call spread on HYPE, betting on a rally above $100 and as high as $150 by year-end. The trade crossed on the decentralized derivatives platform Derive. On Deribit, BTC and ETH puts continue trading at a premium to calls, a sign of continued stronger demand for downside protection. Token talk The market capitalization for Taiko's native token, TAIKO, collapsed by nearly 30% to $14 million after the Ethereum layer-2 network halted its chain and told users to withdraw funds after an attacker exploited its bridge. The attacker walked away with about 2 million TAIKO, worth roughly $170,000, and reportedly moved these coins to the MEXC exchange. The protocol said that its chain-state verification mechanism was breached. In other words, the security assumptions supporting all Taiko bridges, technologies that help move coins across blockchains, were no longer dependable. Cross-chain bridges have emerged as the biggest security risk to DeFi users this year. April's $292 million KelpDAO hack, one of the biggest of this year, was also a bridge exploit. Crypto Markets Today Related Assets Bitcoin $ 64,070.60 0.025 % Latest Crypto News 1 Bank of England backs down on strict stablecoin holding limits, sets $50 billion issuance cap 17 minutes ago 2 Geopolitical relief meets the Warsh Fed: Crypto Week Ahead 43 minutes ago 3 Taiko halts its Ethereum layer-2 network after a bridge exploit, token dives 1 hour ago 4 Bitcoin price may be headed to $54,000, says analyst who forecast October's all-time high 1 hour ago 5 Live markets: Friday's biggest bitcoin options expiry of the year puts $60,000 in focus 3 hours ago 6 Bitcoin developers want to fix the 'replace this transaction with a higher fee' button. Here's why 4 hours ago 7 Ethereum validators asked to fund projects with up to 10% of staking rewards under new proposal 5 hours ago 8 XRP briefly loses $1.14 support before buyers drive sharp rebound 5 hours ago 9 Bitcoin holds near $64,000 as US-Iran talks progress but crypto sits out the rally 6 hours ago 10 Are perps swaps? A quick look at that CME suit: State of Crypto 16 hours ago Latest Research CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high. By CoinDesk Research Jun 15, 2026 In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high. Why it matters : In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high. View Full Report More From Markets Geopolitical relief meets the Warsh Fed: Crypto Week Ahead Bitcoin price may be headed to $54,000, says analyst who forecast October's all-time high XRP briefly loses $1.14 support before buyers drive sharp rebound More From Bitcoin Bank of England backs down on strict stablecoin holding limits, sets $50 billion issuance cap Geopolitical relief meets the Warsh Fed: Crypto Week Ahead Taiko halts its Ethereum layer-2 network after a bridge exploit, token dives