Bitcoin regains key support above $100K, IP leads altcoin recovery

Bitcoin continued to recover above $100,000 from its weekend crash after a short-lived downturn as the US entered the Iran-Israel war At the time of writing, the total crypto market capitalisation was staging a recovery, rising nearly 3.5% to $3.25 trillion. Market sentiment also improved, with the Fear & Greed Index climbing back to a neutral reading of 47 after slipping into fear territory over the weekend. Bitcoin’s rebound helped lift broader market sentiment, triggering a modest recovery across major altcoins, most of which were trading in the green by late Asian hours on Monday. Why is Bitcoin going up? Bitcoin’s recovery appears closely tied to how global markets interpreted the weekend’s military escalation in the Middle East. After a brief sell-off during the initial reports of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, risk sentiment began to stabilise as investors assessed the likelihood of a prolonged conflict. The joint airstrikes, targeting Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan with over 125 aircraft, marked a significant escalation. However, Iran’s immediate retaliation, which included missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities and threats toward US military bases in the Gulf, was met with limited follow-through. President Trump later signalled a pause in further US military action, easing fears of a broader regional war. His statement came as global leaders called for restraint and sought diplomatic avenues to contain the crisis. Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister flew to Moscow on Sunday for emergency consultations, highlighting Tehran’s interest in involving key allies before escalating further. The recovery was not driven by sentiment alone. As Bitcoin climbed back above $101,000, derivatives data pointed to a wave of short liquidations that likely added momentum to the move. A 12-hour liquidation heatmap from Binance revealed a dense cluster of short positions between $101,000 and $102,000. As the price pushed into this range, forced liquidations began to cascade, triggering a short squeeze that helped accelerate Bitcoin’s rebound. Binance BTC/USDT 12-hour Liquidation Heatmap. Source: CoinGlass. These liquidation events occur when over-leveraged traders are forced to buy back into the market to cover their positions, creating rapid upward pressure. The short squeeze not only amplified the price move but also helped restore confidence among spot buyers. Support now appears to be building around the $100,000 level, where buyer interest and previous liquidation zones converge. If momentum holds, short-term upside targets could range between $104,000 and $106,000, areas marked by prior resistance and increased liquidation density on heatmaps. Bitcoin price outlook Recent data suggests Bitcoin may be entering a more mature phase, marked by greater price stability and resilience to macroeconomic shocks. Despite heightened geopolitical tension following the US–Israel airstrikes on Iran, Bitcoin’s volatility remained subdued, which is a notable shift from its historically erratic reactions to global crises. As of June 23, Bitcoin’s 60-day realised volatility had fallen to around 27–28%, according to Bitwise Europe’s André Dragosch. This stands out even more in contrast to traditional equity benchmarks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 recorded higher 60-day realised volatilities of roughly 30% and 35%, respectively, while the so-called “Magnificent 7” tech stocks saw volatility levels nearing 40%. While Bitcoin did drop nearly 6% over the weekend, falling below $100,000 during the initial news of the US bombing campaign, the move was relatively contained. Instead of knee-jerk selling, the market responded with composure, another hint that Bitcoin is maturing from a volatile outlier to a structured macro asset. Analysts attribute this growing stability to the rise of long-term holders and institutional involvement. According to Glassnode, over 30% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply is now held by just 216 entities, including ETFs, custodians, exchanges, and corporate treasuries. At the same time, the total supply held by long-term holders reached a record high of 14.53 million BTC as of June 23, close to 70% of the total 21 million cap. Long-term holders tend to react less to short-term news cycles, allowing Bitcoin to behave more like a macro asset rather than a speculative token. Analysts, including Arthur Hayes and OSL’s Eugene Cheung, see further upside for Bitcoin. They cite ongoing central bank liquidity, institutional inflows, and structural supply constraints as long-term drivers that could sustain BTC’s climb above $100,000. On a shorter timeframe, pseudonymous analyst Crypto Caesar pointed to a potential double bottom forming just above the $102,900 level, a structure that often precedes trend reversals. According to a 1-day BTC/USDT chart the analyst shared earlier today, if Bitcoin maintains support above this zone and breaks through the $104,000–$106,000 resistance band, it could make a run toward the $112,000 “weak high” marked by earlier liquidity. BTC/USDT 1-day price chart. Caesar also outlined a second scenario in which Bitcoin retests the $96,000–$92,000 demand zone before rebounding. However, in both scenarios, the broader technical outlook remains intact, with momentum favouring continued upside unless key support levels break decisively. Another bullish case for Bitcoin was presented by veteran analyst Gert van Lagen, who echoed earlier observations about cleared liquidity around the $100,000 mark. He noted that the short liquidation clusters had shifted toward the all-time high zone, reinforcing the idea that this area could act as a strong price magnet and fuel a potential short squeeze. Gert van Lagen @GertvanLagen · Follow $BTC liquidity around $100k is taken out now. The main short liquidation cluster now sits right at the ATH zone — a strong magnet for price.Short squeeze incoming? 8:24 pm · 23 Jun 2025 184 Reply Copy link Read 20 replies However, not everyone was convinced, with fellow trader and market commentator Crypto GVR calling Bitcoin’s current recovery rally a “fake pump,” as they advised caution. Crypto GVR @GVRCALLS · Follow $BTC fake pump 🥵Don’t fall in this trap guys 8:46 pm · 23 Jun 2025 69 Reply Copy link Read 25 replies Meanwhile, analyst Crypto Chase outlined a potential half-risk long setup contingent on a sweep of local lows, but noted that escalation in the Iran conflict could invalidate the structure and open downside targets in the low $90,000s. Crypto Chase @Crypto_Chase · Follow $BTC I’ll send a half risk long if we get a sweep. Easy invalidation at new local lows which I think would require the Iran conflict / fear to escalate and we’d be seeing low 90K’s etc. 7:58 pm · 23 Jun 2025 159 Reply Copy link Read 27 replies When writing, Bitcoin was trading at $101,745, up 2.3% over the past day. Altcoin market In the past 24 hours, the altcoin market cap surged to $1.23 trillion even as the Altcoin Season Index reading slid down to 15, indicating Bitcoin dominating performance over the majority of the leading 99 altcoins by market cap. Ethereum, the largest altcoin by market cap, rose 4% over the day to $2,286, bringing its market cap to over $275 billion, while XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) reported gains ranging between 3% and 4%. Story (IP) led the day with double-digit gains of 15%, while Sonic (S) and Kaia (KAIA) followed with gains of 14% and 13.1%, respectively. Source: CoinMarketCap Story’s rally was driven by renewed investor interest after the project teased a major announcement that’s expected soon. As for Sonic, its gains followed the announcement that Binance users holding the token can now activate ‘soft staking’ to earn passive rewards, in the form of additional S tokens. DeFi activity on Kaia has also accelerated over the past 30 days, as evident by an uptick in total value locked across the network, which has surged over 45%. The post Bitcoin regains key support above $100K, IP leads altcoin recovery appeared first on Invezz

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