Crypto Rises as Bitcoin Retests $64,400 and Altcoin Sentiment Improves

Crypto markets climbed Friday even as U.S. equity futures softened, with bitcoin trading around $64,400, up 2% since midnight UTC. The move brought BTC back to a level it failed to break earlier in the week, while ether rose 2.6% to $1,790 and attempted to end a pattern of lower highs and lower lows.

The divergence matters because it suggests digital assets were attracting demand despite weakness in broader risk markets. CoinDesk reported S&P 500 futures down 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4%, while crypto gains spread into several altcoins ahead of the weekend, a period often associated with thinner liquidity.

Market positioning also looked more stable. Derivatives volume over 24 hours fell 7% to $140 billion, while open interest rose 3% to $110.52 billion, a combination CoinDesk described as pointing more toward strategic positioning than short-term speculative churn.

Bitcoin futures open interest on major exchanges increased from 262,000 to 272,000 as spot prices moved above $64,000. Positive funding rates and positive 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta pointed to a growing bullish bias, while ether futures had not yet seen a meaningful rise in open interest, indicating traders remained cautious about using leverage there.

Altcoin activity added to the risk-on tone. Zcash and Aave each rose around 5%, while Lighter gained more than 5%, extending its advance since May 16 to more than 200% after a deal with Robinhood Chain to bring its decentralized derivatives exchange to Robinhood’s 28 million customers. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token rose 2.8% to $68, while AI-linked tokens lagged the broader move, with Bittensor steady on the day.