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Bitcoin steadies, altcoins jump in liquidity-driven relief rally

Bitcoin and ether tick higher while altcoins surge on oversold bounce, but weak liquidity and macro tensions keep the broader trend fragile.

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Bitcoin steadies, altcoins jump in liquidity-driven relief rally

Bitcoin and ether tick higher while altcoins surge on oversold bounce, but weak liquidity and macro tensions keep the broader trend fragile.

By Oliver Knight, Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback

Mar 30, 2026, 10:30 a.m.

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What to know:

• Bitcoin rose to $67,300 and ether to $2,045, but both remain range-bound in a broader bearish trend below key resistance.
• Altcoins outperformed, with tokens like CHZ, FET and OP jumping up to 9%, highlighting a relief rally driven by oversold conditions.
• Ongoing tensions in Iran and a persistent liquidity crunch continue to cap upside, with a BTC breakout required to reset market structure.

The crypto market staged a recovery on Monday with bitcoin BTC$67,333.70 rising by 2.1% since midnight UTC and ether (ETH) adding 3.1%. Stronger gains occurred in the altcoin market, with tokens such as chiliz (CHZ), FET$0.2420 and optimism OP$0.1077 notching advances of more than 6%.

Despite the improvement in sentiment, investors remained uneasy as the conflict with Iran enters a fifth week. While Pakistan expressed readiness to host “meaningful” peace talks, the markets aren’t buying it yet. Brent crude jumped to $108 per barrel over the weekend, signaling deep skepticism that a resolution is near. It was trading in the low $70s before the start of hostilities.

U.S. stock index futures responded well to Pakistan’s comments: Nasdaq 100 futures and S&P 500 futures both advanced 0.25%, and the dollar index (DXY) was little changed at 100.2 points.

The crypto market remains in a bearish trend on higher time frames, characterized by a series of lower highs and lower lows dating back to October. Bitcoin has remained in the same trading range since early February, failing to break above $75,000 to the upside or below $62,800 to the downside.

Derivatives positioning

• Growth in bitcoin futures open interest (OI) has stalled since hitting a near two-month high of 748.65 BTC on Saturday. Near-zero perpetual funding rates and negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggest a bias for bearish, short positions.
• BTC OI declined notably during the spot price bounce from the Asian-session low of around $65,000. It shows that the rally is largely spot-driven and has yet to win the backing of leveraged traders.
• On Bittfinex, the number of BTC/USD longs hit the highest since November 2023. Historically, this has been a contrary indicator, coinciding with price selloffs.
• OI in most major tokens, including XRP, ETH, DOGE and SOL, has held largely flat over 24 hours.
• AVAX and LTC stand out with double-digit percentage gains in futures OI, a sign of capital inflows. Most inflows, however, seem tied to bearish bets, as indicated by their negative CVDs.
• Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index is under pressure again, falling to nearly 55% after hitting 58% over the weekend. Overall, the index continues to indicate market calm despite the Iran war-led turmoil in traditional markets. Ether’s volatility index suggests the same.
• On Deribit, BTC and ETH puts continue to cost more than calls across all time frames in a sign of lingering downside worries. Dealer gamma is predominantly negative between $65,000 and $70,000, which means dealers could buy low and sell high, potentially keeping prices range-bound.