Bitcoin climbs toward $77,000 as risk sentiment improves, but altcoins remain under pressure following $290M KelpDAO exploit

Key takeaways›Bitcoin rose to $76,500 and briefly spiked to $77,000 before meeting resistance near Friday's high of $78,300.›Ether and DeFi tokens continue to lag after the weekend's $290 million KelpDAO exploit, with sentiment in the sector still fragile.›Easing Middle East tensions could lower oil prices and provide a further tailwind for risk assets including crypto.›Bitcoin and ether funding rates remain negative, setting up a potential short squeeze if price resilience holds.Crypto markets are showing tentative signs of recovery on Tuesday, led by bitcoin reclaiming the $76,500 level as broader risk sentiment improves — though the altcoin market remains firmly in the shadow of the weekend's major DeFi security breach.Bitcoin pushes higher, faces key resistanceBitcoin advanced roughly 1% from midnight UTC, reaching $76,500 before a brief spike to approximately $77,000 at 9:45 a.m. The move was quickly met by a wave of spot sellers, widely seen as market participants defending a potential breakout above Friday's swing high of $78,300 — a level that, if cleared, could open the door to further upside.U.S. stock index futures also rose on the day, pointing to a broader return of risk-on appetite among investors. The crypto market's correlation with equities sentiment has remained strong in recent weeks, and Tuesday's equity strength appears to be providing a tailwind for bitcoin even as geopolitical uncertainty lingers.Altcoins struggle in the wake of the KelpDAO exploitEther significantly underperformed bitcoin, adding just 0.3% as investors maintained a cautious stance toward altcoins in the aftermath of the $290 million exploit on KelpDAO over the weekend. DeFi tokens bore the brunt of the fallout, with ethena (ENA), etherfi (ETHFI) and jupiter (JUP) all posting losses over the past 24 hours despite a marginal recovery since midnight.AAVE, which shed 22% over the weekend in the immediate aftermath of the exploit, managed to claw back 2.6% on Tuesday — though the recovery comes against a backdrop of broadly negative sentiment across the DeFi sector. Open interest in AAVE futures has climbed to a record 3.59 million tokens, but the OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta has turned negative, suggesting sell orders are dominating — pointing to a slight bearish bias despite the price recovery.Asset24h PerformanceOI ChangeBitcoin (BTC)+1–3%↑Solana (SOL)+1–3%↑BNB+1–3%↑Ether (ETH)+0.3%↓ slightDogecoin (DOGE)Negative↓ slightENA / ETHFI / JUPNegative↓AAVE+2.6%↑ (record OI)CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season indicator sits at 39 out of 100, recovering from a weekend low of 34 but still firmly signaling investor preference for bitcoin over altcoins. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index is the worst-performing benchmark of the day, down 0.24%, while the bitcoin-dominant CoinDesk 20 is up 0.65%. The broader CoinDesk 80 altcoin index remained essentially flat through both the Asia and European trading sessions.Derivatives: short squeeze potential buildsThe derivatives market is painting a cautious but nuanced picture. The long-short ratio for crypto futures sits at 50.68%, reflecting a near-even split between bullish and bearish positioning — a sign that traders are broadly undecided on the market's next directional move.Bitcoin and ether funding rates have turned negative, indicating a bias toward short positions in the perpetual futures market. While bearish on the surface, this environment also creates the conditions for a potential short squeeze — a scenario in which sustained price resilience forces short sellers to close their positions, adding further momentum to any upward move in spot prices.On the CME, activity in BTC futures continues to cool even as spot bitcoin ETFs continue to attract inflows. This divergence suggests that ETF buyers are taking straightforward directional long positions rather than engaging in basis trades — a signal of genuine bullish conviction rather than arbitrage activity. On Deribit, BTC and ETH put options continue to trade at a premium to calls, reflecting lingering downside concerns among options market participants. Bitcoin straddles and strangles — volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction — account for more than half of all block flow activity over the past 24 hours.Geopolitics: Middle East developments in focusBeyond crypto-specific catalysts, macro and geopolitical developments remain a key driver of market direction. The ongoing conflict involving Iran continues to weigh on risk sentiment, with crypto and oil prices showing an inverse correlation since hostilities began. The U.S. vice president is due to travel to Pakistan for peace talks, and any signs of de-escalation could push oil prices lower — potentially providing a meaningful boost to risk assets including crypto.For now, markets appear to be cautiously optimistic, with bitcoin holding firm above key support levels and broader risk appetite showing tentative signs of recovery. Whether that momentum can be sustained will depend heavily on how geopolitical developments unfold — and whether the DeFi sector can rebuild confidence in the wake of one of the year's largest exploits.