Bitcoin moved toward $65,000 and ether also gained as digital assets remained steady even with Brent crude rising to its highest level since mid-May.

The move came after earlier oil-price spikes had unsettled risk assets, including crypto. This time, the market's resilience offered one of the more constructive signals for bulls in recent weeks, even as the macroeconomic backdrop appeared less supportive. Elevated energy prices have historically tightened financial conditions by stoking inflation concerns, which can reduce appetite for riskier assets — a dynamic that makes crypto's firmness this session notable.

HYPE rose for a second straight session as it continued to form a pattern of higher lows following its July pullback. AI-related tokens FET and NEAR also advanced, while MORPHO extended one of the steadier DeFi-sector gains of the month.

The rebound was not broad enough to erase weakness across the market. WLFI, AVAX, HBAR and SUI all declined over the past 24 hours, while Lighter extended its retreat from its July high to almost 20%.

Bitcoin (BTC), quoted at $63,958.45, added as much as 1.1% since midnight UTC to reach $65,760. The broader crypto market held firm despite conditions that might otherwise be expected to weigh more heavily on risk assets.

Brent crude futures traded at $97.66 per barrel, the highest level since mid-May, as the Iran conflict showed no sign of de-escalation. Geopolitical risk premia in energy markets have intensified as supply-disruption fears persist, though the article presents no causal link between the conflict timeline and specific crypto price levels. Although previous oil rallies have pressured risk markets, digital assets were broadly higher during the morning session.

Ether (ETH) tracked bitcoin's move, rising as much as 1.6%. HYPE and FET were among the tokens gaining more than 2%.

Traditional markets were subdued. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index futures were both slightly positive, gold held above $4,000, and the Dollar Index edged modestly lower. Gold's hold above $4,000 reflects continued demand for traditional safe-haven assets alongside the risk-on tone in equities futures, a divergence that underscores the cross-asset uncertainty prevailing this session.

Derivatives positioning

Market activity was dominated by churn. Trading volume increased 11% over 24 hours to $165 billion, while open interest (OI) remained broadly unchanged at around $116 billion. That combination pointed to turnover rather than a clear increase in positional interest — a pattern often observed when traders close and re-open positions without building net exposure.

Dogecoin showed a bearish buildup in derivatives markets. DOGE futures open interest continued to rise and was approaching 16 billion tokens, the highest level since October. The increase came as DOGE's spot price remained under pressure after falling Thursday to its lowest level since November 2023. Rising open interest alongside a falling price is said to confirm a downtrend and indicate trader interest in shorting a declining market.

Ether derivatives presented mixed signals. Open interest in ether futures also rose, reaching 14.53 million ETH, the highest since June 7. Other indicators were less clear: positive funding rates continued to point to bullish sentiment, while negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggested bears were driving price action by shorting through market orders rather than placing limit orders.

Bearish leadership was broad across tokens. With the exception of TRX and CRO, most tokens, including BTC, posted negative 24-hour CVD.

Volatility measures eased. The BVIV index, which tracks BTC's 30-day implied volatility, declined 3% since midnight to 39%, ending a five-day run of increases. Ether's EVIV was also under pressure.

In the Deribit-listed bitcoin options market, a large $5 billion open interest cluster formed around $70,000-$72,000 options, mainly driven by bullish bets, or call options. Volume rankings also showed an upside bias, with calls at the $77,000 and $80,000 strikes appearing on the list alongside other call options. The concentration of call open interest at those strikes marks a level traders are watching as a potential upside target area, as large option clusters can reflect where market participants expect price to move or where hedging activity intensifies.

Token talk

Hyperliquid (HYPE) led the altcoin market for a second consecutive session, rising 2.4% to $58.93. The token has been rebuilding with a series of higher lows since pulling back in July from record highs.

AI tokens FET and NEAR gained 2.23% and 1.38%, respectively, offering tentative signs of stabilization after several weeks of underperformance. MORPHO, quoted at $1.9113, added 1.89%, extending one of the more consistent DeFi-sector advances this month.

WLFI, quoted at $0.05696, gave back 2.13% after Thursday's 12% rally. The Trump family-linked token has repeatedly shown susceptibility to sharp reversals because of thin liquidity.

Lighter (LIT) fell another 1.32%, extending a slide that has now erased close to 20% from its July peak. The decline followed profit-taking after a rally of more than 200% between May and early July.

The broader 24-hour performance remained more cautious than the intraday recovery suggested. WLFI, AVAX, HBAR and SUI were all down between 4% and 10% over the past day, underscoring that weakness persisted across part of the altcoin market.