Profit-taking, MidEast hostilities drag crypto lower after bullish week

Markets Profit-taking, MidEast hostilities drag crypto lower after bullish week Crypto's weekend gains gave way to a Monday selloff as Middle East tensions resurfaced, South Korea's Kospi lost 9.2% and $253 million in leveraged positions were wiped out. By Oliver Knight , Saksham Diwan | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jul 13, 2026, 10:30 a.m. 3 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Bitcoin price (CoinDesk Data) Summary Show Bitcoin fell 1% while LIT slid 8% in its first significant pullback after rallying 200% in two months as reignited Iran-U.S. tensions over the Strait of Hormuz weighed on risk assets, including equities. Derivatives markets show $253 million in 24-hour liquidations skewed toward longs, though broader positioning remains measured. The crypto market pulled back during Asian and European hours on Monday, with bitcoin BTC $ 63,023.95 falling to $63,100 from above $64,300 at the weekly close at midnight UTC. That's a decline of about 1%. Steeper losses hit the altcoin market. Lighter (LIT) led the downside cascade, sliding 8% in its first major selloff since rallying by more than 200% over the past two months. The exit from riskier assets was felt across equity markets, too. South Korea's Kospi index lost 9.2% as SK Hynix, the memory-chip maker that went public in the U.S. on Friday, slumped 15%. Japan's Nikkei and China's SSE both fell more than 2%. The drops reflected reignited tensions in the Middle East as Iran and the U.S. fought over control of the Strait of Hormuz, with both nations firing airstrikes against each other. U.S. equities are also indicated to open lower, with Nasdaq 100 index futures and S&P 500 futures losing 0.9% and 0.25% since midnight, respectively. It's worth noting that going into the weekend bitcoin and the broader crypto market enjoyed a period of bullish price action, steering itself away from immediate danger, and Monday's selloff could also be attributed to profit-taking. Derivatives positioning Bitcoin derivatives positioning held steady this week. Open interest (OI) was steady at $17 billion, while the three-month annualized basis held at 3.8%. Funding rates were little changed to positive across multiple venues, with Bybit the notable exception at roughly -13% annualized on BTC perps. Stable OI alongside a firm basis and constructive funding suggests the market is holding its positioning without meaningful new leverage being added in either direction Options positioning has tilted bullish. The 24-hour put/call ratio sits at 64/36 in favor of calls, and while the one-week delta skew remains elevated at 16%, it has narrowed from 26% a week ago, suggesting call demand is easing off rather than building. The at-the-money term structure remains in contango, with the front end around 34%-35% and the long end at ~43% out to mid-2027, which implies traders see a calm longer-term volatility environment Coinglass data shows $253 million in 24-hour liquidations, with a 76-24 split between longs and shorts. BTC ($70 million) and ETH ($60 million) led in terms of notional liquidations. The Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $62,000 as a core liquidation level to monitor, in case of a price drop. Token talk AI tokens FET and NEAR showed strength, rising by around 1.5% apiece despite the rest of the market suffering losses. Hyperliquid (HYPE) followed rival LIT down, dropping by around 3.3% to $65.1, its lowest point since July 2. CoinMarketCap's "Altcoin Season" indicator reflects the recent volatility. The measure is reading 56/100 after rising from last week's average of 50. This implies more risk-on sentiment from investors following months of heavy losses. One of the most volatile tokens of late has been ADA $ 0.1596 , which suffered a grueling 39% downturn in June before bouncing by more than 40% at the start of July. It has since retraced that upshift, losing 19% since July 4. Solana-based decentralized exchange jupiter (JUP) has also struggled of late, losing more than 15% over the past week as daily trading volume dwindled to just $17 million, down from 2025 when it regularly topped $500 million. 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Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch. By CoinDesk Research Jul 10, 2026 Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch. Why it matters : Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch. View Full Report More From Markets Paradigm shifts vs bubbles: AI chips and bitcoin show powerful trends can still produce severe corrections U.S. inflation, second-quarter earnings reports: Crypto Week Ahead Live markets: Bitcoin slips below $63,000 in an Asian-session leverage flush More From Bitcoin Paradigm shifts vs bubbles: AI chips and bitcoin show powerful trends can still produce severe corrections U.S. inflation, second-quarter earnings reports: Crypto Week Ahead Live markets: Bitcoin slips below $63,000 in an Asian-session leverage flush