Bitcoin retreated slightly by 0.4% to approximately $77,900 after spiking to $78,700 during Asian trading sessions. Market pressures intensified as Binance customers withdrew a net total of $3.64 billion following the reopening of withdrawals, and U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed a significant outflow of $643 million.
Intensified Binance Withdrawals and Criminal Investigations
On Sunday, Binance initiated a phased withdrawal process, facing $4.65 billion in withdrawal demands but recording an inflow of only $1.01 billion, resulting in a net outflow of $3.64 billion. Remarkably, Binance stated it had recovered approximately 95% of the $6.3 billion that had been stolen. The FBI officially linked the attack to the North Korea-associated TraderTraitor group.
Binance, having regained approximately 95% of the stolen $6.3 billion, faced allegations as the FBI attributed the attack to the TraderTraitor group linked to North Korea.
Friday saw U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experience a net outflow of $643 million, marking the largest daily withdrawal since June and erasing gains from a four-day inflow streak, according to Farside Investors data.
Uptick in Derivatives Market Activity
Crypto futures trading volume surged by 56% over the past 24 hours, reaching $111.8 billion, although open interest remained largely stable at approximately $137.1 billion. This pattern indicates high turnover rather than the influx of new directional positions. Liquidations, primarily from forced closure of leveraged positions, increased by 77% to $140.2 million.
Volumes in Bitcoin and Ether transactions rose by 37% and 83%, respectively, yet open interest showed minimal changes. This suggests that despite elevated trading activities, fresh capital inflows remained constrained. On the options front, all heavily traded Bitcoin contracts on Deribit were put options, whereas Ether options displayed a more mixed outlook.
Altcoins Experience Mounting Selling Pressure
Thorchain posted one of the steepest declines within the CoinDesk 100 index, with RUNE plummeting 6.4%, accumulating a 17% loss over the last 24 hours. In light of a request from the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and IRS Criminal Investigation to block addresses linked to the Binance hack, Thorchain’s role as a cross-chain protocol facilitated higher scrutiny.
NEAR fell by 5.93% as one of the weakest major tokens, while BNB saw a 5.31% decrease in open positions alongside a 1.12% price drop, indicative of investors closing positions and capital exiting the market. AI-themed tokens also saw continued declines; GRASS lost 4.5%, NEAR approximately 4%, and KITE 3.3%.
Despite the sharp increase in futures trading volumes, the static open positions suggest a market characterized by turnover rather than new directional commitment.
Macroeconomic Agenda and Key Assets in Focus
In traditional markets, Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.8%. Brent crude oil dipped 4% to approximately $109 following U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that President Donald Trump favored a peaceful resolution with Iran. Market participants are now keenly awaiting Apple’s earnings report, U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, and Friday’s employment data release.
Monday saw a handful of tokens in positive territory: Monero increased by 1.7%, Zcash by 1.4%, and Tron by 1%. Conversely, the memecoin TRUMP, linked to former President Donald Trump, dipped by 4.2% ahead of the U.S. midterms. The CoinMarketCap altcoin season index fell to 46 from 60 prior to last week’s attack.
