Bitcoin Holds Near $62.6K as South Korean Investors Turn to Crypto Amid Stock Rout

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Bitcoin stabilized after Monday’s sharp decline as investors assessed renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, continued weakness in gold, and a major selloff in South Korea’s stock market that fueled a spike in local crypto trading activity.

Bitcoin traded around $62,600 after falling from roughly $64,400 to $61,800 over the previous 24 hours before finding support.

Ether mirrored Bitcoin’s price action, moving within a narrow $1,770–$1,790 range. ETH trading volume increased 2.2% to $8.95 billion over the past day, indicating balanced market participation rather than weak demand.

Lighter (LIT) recovered from Monday’s losses, climbing 5.7% since the start of UTC trading as the token attempts another advance after gaining more than 200% since May.

U.S. stock futures showed mixed performance. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.31%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.12%, reflecting investor caution after President Donald Trump warned of potential “very heavy” strikes against Iran.

Gold continued its retreat from January’s record high, trading near $4,020 per ounce and extending a decline of around 28% since Jan. 29.

Derivatives market update

Bitcoin derivatives remained relatively steady, with open interest holding near $17.1 billion and the three-month annualized basis unchanged at 3.8%. Funding rates across major exchanges stayed within a 0%–8% range, while previously negative funding on Bybit returned to normal levels.

Market data showed no major increase in leverage on either side, and derivatives markets displayed no signs of significant stress.

Options traders remained slightly bullish, though call demand has eased. The 24-hour call-to-put ratio declined to 58/42 from 64/36, while the one-week delta skew dropped to around 15% from 26% last week.

The options curve remained in contango, with front-end implied volatility around 31%–32% and longer-term volatility near 43%. Deribit’s DVOL index stood at 37.43, close to multi-year lows, suggesting subdued volatility expectations.

Crypto liquidations reached $283 million over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Long positions accounted for 74% of liquidations, while shorts represented 26%. Bitcoin recorded $66 million in liquidations, followed by Ether at $50 million.

The Binance liquidation heatmap identifies $61,300 as a key support zone to monitor if Bitcoin experiences renewed selling pressure.

Altcoin market activity

Ethena (ENA) gained 5.7% on Tuesday, matching LIT’s rebound and leading altcoin performance. However, ENA remains in a broader downtrend, having lost more than 90% since its September peak.

AI-focused tokens also posted gains, with NEAR rising 3.3% and FET advancing 1.7%.

Jupiter (JUP) and WLFI remained under pressure, falling 1.5% and 0.5% respectively as trading volumes weakened.

CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index improved to 54/100, showing a more positive outlook after spending most of June below the 50 mark.

A potential boost for altcoins could come from the sharp decline in South Korean equities. The KOSPI index has dropped 10% since Friday, coinciding with increased activity on domestic crypto exchanges.

Wu Blockchain reported that trading volume on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, surged 1,426% following the stock market decline, suggesting investors may be shifting back toward crypto after previously favoring semiconductor and technology stocks.

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