Bitcoin Climbs After Japan Rate Hike as XLM, INJ, UNI Rally

Stellar’s XLM, Injective’s INJ, and Uniswap’s UNI were among the strongest performers within the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed following the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates to a 31-year high, rising from around $65,600 in Asian trading to above $66,500 during European hours.

The leading cryptocurrency gained 1.5% over the past 24 hours, extending its rebound from a June 5 low below $60,000. Several altcoins outpaced Bitcoin’s gains, posting even stronger rallies.

XLM, INJ, and UNI rose between 13% and 16%, placing them among the top gainers in the large-cap crypto space. UNI’s rally came after Standard Chartered initiated coverage of the token and issued a long-term price target of $100 by 2030.

On the downside, the memecoin SIREN extended its losses, dropping another 21% in the past 24 hours and bringing its monthly decline to 77%. Blockchain analysts on X attributed the selloff to a large holder unloading tokens equivalent to roughly 92% of supply.

Derivatives positioning
Crypto markets showed a renewed appetite for risk, with 24-hour trading volume jumping 51% to $207 billion. Open interest rose 2.4% to $113.41 billion, while liquidations surged 64% to $561 million, with short positions accounting for most forced exits.

Leverage is also returning. Bitcoin futures open interest increased to 747,000 BTC, marking a third consecutive daily rise and the highest level since June 4. Stable funding rates near zero and a positive 24-hour open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggest a more balanced recovery rather than overheated speculation.

Ethereum futures open interest also ticked up to 14.20 million ETH from a recent low of 13.64 million, signaling a modest but constructive improvement in positioning.

Among major altcoins, Litecoin (LTC) stood out, with open interest rising 6.6% to 6.86 million tokens over 24 hours. However, positioning remains relatively subdued, still well below its January peak of 9.29 million.

On the weaker side, TON, BCH, and HBAR all saw declines in open interest, indicating capital outflows. TON was the most notable, with sentiment weakening further despite its rebranding to GRAM. Its 24-hour CVD remains deeply negative, suggesting aggressive selling into bids.

Volatility conditions are also stabilizing. Both BVIV and EVIV—30-day implied volatility indexes for BTC and ETH—have nearly retraced the spike seen earlier in the month. The easing of volatility points to reduced fear and supports the case for continued market recovery.

On Deribit, Bitcoin put options with strikes between $58,000 and $64,000 saw elevated activity, including structured strategies such as put condors, indicating traders are positioning for range-bound volatility rather than strong directional moves.

Token talk
Avalanche (AVAX) drew the most discussion on Monday amid the broader market rally, though sentiment turned increasingly negative. The ratio of positive to negative commentary slipped to about 0.85, according to Santiment, meaning bearish posts now outnumber bullish ones for the first time since earlier in the year.

Much of the negative sentiment centers on concerns that Avalanche is losing momentum to faster-growing ecosystems like Solana and Sui, particularly in developer activity and user adoption.

AVAX is currently trading around $6.88, near the lower end of its recent range and well below levels near $10 seen a month earlier.

However, analysts note a potential contrarian signal. Historically, extreme bearish sentiment has sometimes preceded rebounds, as markets often reverse when positioning becomes overly negative. Similar arguments were recently made regarding XRP.

Despite weak sentiment, Avalanche fundamentals remain intact, including institutional partnerships, government-related initiatives, and its subnet architecture, which enables customized application-specific blockchains. The current weakness is being attributed more to momentum loss than structural decline.

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