Bitcoin Defies Market Turmoil as South Korean Investors Seek Shelter in Digital Assets

Here’s another rewritten version with a fresh structure and a more analytical tone:

Bitcoin moved into a consolidation phase after Monday’s sharp selloff as traders assessed rising geopolitical risks, continued weakness in gold, and a major decline in South Korean equities that sparked a jump in domestic crypto trading activity.

BTC stabilized around $62,600 after dropping from nearly $64,400 to $61,800 within 24 hours, with buyers stepping in after the decline.

Ether followed Bitcoin’s lead, trading between $1,770 and $1,790. Trading activity remained steady, with ETH volume rising 2.2% to $8.95 billion over the last day, indicating continued engagement from market participants.

Lighter (LIT) recovered from its previous losses, gaining 5.7% since the start of UTC trading as it attempts to resume its strong rally that has delivered more than 200% gains since May.

U.S. markets remained cautious. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.31%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.12% after President Donald Trump warned that Iran could face “very heavy” strikes, adding fresh uncertainty to global markets.

Gold extended its pullback from January’s record highs, trading near $4,020 per ounce and falling approximately 28% since Jan. 29.

Derivatives market stays balanced

Bitcoin derivatives showed little change, with open interest holding near $17.1 billion and the three-month annualized basis remaining at 3.8%. Funding rates across major exchanges stayed within a 0%–8% range, while Bybit’s previous negative funding levels returned to normal.

The latest data suggests traders are avoiding aggressive leverage buildup, with no major warning signs emerging from futures markets.

Options positioning remained slightly bullish but continued to cool. The 24-hour call-to-put ratio declined to 58/42 from 64/36, while the one-week delta skew dropped to approximately 15% from 26% a week earlier.

The options market maintained a contango structure, with front-end volatility around 31%–32% and longer-term volatility near 43%. Deribit’s DVOL index remained at 37.43, close to multi-year lows, suggesting traders expect relatively calm price action.

CoinGlass data showed total crypto liquidations reached $283 million over 24 hours. Long positions represented 74% of liquidations, while short positions accounted for 26%. Bitcoin led losses with $66 million liquidated, followed by Ether at $50 million.

The Binance liquidation heatmap identifies $61,300 as a major level to monitor if BTC experiences another downward move.

Altcoins attempt a recovery

Ethena (ENA) gained 5.7% on Tuesday, joining LIT among the day’s strongest altcoin performers. Despite the bounce, ENA remains in a prolonged decline, having lost more than 90% since September.

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

Meanwhile, Jupiter (JUP) and WLFI continued to struggle, declining 1.5% and 0.5% as trading volumes weakened.

CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index climbed to 54/100, suggesting improving sentiment toward alternative cryptocurrencies after remaining below 50 for much of June.

The sharp downturn in South Korean stocks could become a potential driver for crypto demand. The KOSPI index has fallen 10% since Friday, while activity on local cryptocurrency exchanges has accelerated.

Wu Blockchain reported that trading volume on Upbit jumped 1,426% following the market decline, suggesting some investors may be shifting capital back into crypto after previously favoring semiconductor and technology stocks.