crypto bulls ended the week noticeably more confident: weak employment data in the United States cooled expectations of a new Federal Reserve rate hike, Bitcoin returned to $61,600, and Uniswap surged sharply after news of a partnership with Robinhood.
The Market Reacted to Weak US Data
The cryptocurrency market ended the week in a much calmer state than it began. Bitcoin was trading around $61,600, up 6.5% from Tuesday’s low near $57,750. For Bitcoin, this was an important attempt at stabilization after sharp pressure earlier in the week.
Friday’s move in the largest cryptocurrency was not as strong as Thursday’s 2.6% jump. That impulse came after weak US labor market data: investors lowered the probability that the central bank would tighten monetary policy again. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.9% on this news, supporting overall risk appetite.
Rate expectations remain a key factor for crypto assets for the second day in a row. Meanwhile, the US stock market went into a long weekend, and US stock trading was closed. For investors, this increased attention to digital assets, where trading continued.
Ethereum rose for the third day in a row: since Tuesday, Ether gained 11.5%, and on Friday alone it climbed another 2.6%. Among altcoins, several coins also stood out with gains from 2.2% to 3.1%:
- Cardano.
- Zcash.
- Dash.
Despite the rebound, the overall picture does not yet look fully bullish. Many cryptocurrencies still have a structure with lower highs and lows. For Bitcoin to convincingly break the downtrend, the price must first consolidate above $67,000 and then surpass $81,000—the local May peak.
Key Signals of the Week
- Asset: Bitcoin. Weekly performance: recovered to $61,600 after falling to $57,750 on Tuesday. Key factor: lower rate expectations in the US and improved sentiment in risk assets.
- Asset: Ethereum. Weekly performance: became the main asset in the derivatives market. Key factor: of $417 million in liquidations in 24 hours, $160 million was in Ether, indicating strong short squeeze.
- Asset: Uniswap. Weekly performance: led among altcoins. Key factor: confirmation of its role as the main automated market maker for Robinhood’s layer 2 network.
- Asset: Solana. Weekly performance: gained more than 17% and rose to $80 after dropping to $68 a week earlier. Key factor: renewed demand for major altcoins.
- Asset: FET. Weekly performance: switched to moderate growth after several weeks of selling. Key factor: renewed interest in AI-related tokens.
- Asset: RENDER. Weekly performance: switched to moderate growth after several weeks of selling. Key factor: renewed interest in AI-related tokens.
- Asset: TAO. Weekly performance: switched to moderate growth after several weeks of selling. Key factor: renewed interest in AI-related tokens.
What Is Happening in Derivatives
In the futures market, Ethereum overtook Bitcoin by liquidation volume in 24 hours. In total, $417 million in positions were closed in 24 hours, with $160.8 million in Ether. Bitcoin came in second by a wide margin: liquidations totaled about $97 million. This gap shows how overloaded short bets on Ethereum were.
Open interest in Ether futures held at 14.31 million contracts—the highest since June 10. Annualized funding rates approached 10%, and the 24-hour cumulative volume delta was the strongest among major assets. Together, these indicators point to growing demand for bullish positioning.
Dogecoin also showed a revival. Open interest in futures reached 14.13 billion tokens, the highest since May 16. The indicator has been rising since June 28, indicating a return of demand for leverage and margin trading. Sentiment in Dogecoin in this sense resembles the situation with Ether.
Not all assets are moving in the same direction. While Ethereum and Dogecoin lead in open interest growth over 24 hours, HBAR and Zcash futures look weaker. HBAR posted the most negative 24-hour cumulative volume delta among major coins, indicating more aggressive selling from the market.
Overall, for most tokens, the cumulative volume delta remains positive. This means buyers are still holding the initiative. At the same time, 30-day implied volatility for Bitcoin and Ethereum continues to decline after the June spike. Calmer volatility often helps the market recover if demand does not disappear.
On Deribit, the most active Bitcoin options in the past 24 hours were calls with strikes from $60,000 to $70,000. Call options usually reflect expectations of growth. For Ethereum, the picture is similar: the most interest was in the call with a $2,500 strike.
In block trades, a large long call condor strategy on Bitcoin stood out. It is designed for the price to move in the $66,000–$68,000 range until July 17.
Uniswap Leads Among Altcoins
The main story among altcoins was Uniswap. The UNI token rose more than 11% in 24 hours, and daily trading volume doubled to $320 million. The reason was confirmation that Uniswap will become the main automated market maker for Robinhood’s layer 2 blockchain.
The partnership with Robinhood was announced on July 1, and the market continued to price it in. For Uniswap, this is an important demand factor, especially amid cautious renewed interest in altcoins.
AI tokens FET, RENDER, and TAO also gained on Friday. Their growth from midnight UTC was about 1.5%–2.3% after several weeks of selling pressure.
The CoinMarketCap ‘Altcoin Season’ index is at 46 out of 100. This is a neutral zone, where the indicator has held for about a month. The market is waiting for a clearer return of risk appetite, and investments in altcoins remain selective for now.
Solana looks stronger than many major cryptocurrencies. Over the past week, SOL rose more than 17% and reached $80 after falling to $68 a week earlier.
The Macro Backdrop Remains Decisive
For cryptocurrencies, not only internal demand is important now, but also the behavior of traditional markets. When the US dollar, tech stocks, and rate expectations change simultaneously, crypto assets quickly react to the overall investor mood.
If the Federal Reserve really has fewer reasons to raise rates, pressure on risk assets may ease. This is important not only for the US: signals from the US central bank are considered by market participants worldwide, including China.
For now, the recovery looks encouraging but not final. Cryptocurrency got a breather after weak employment data, but for a full reversal, the market needs to confirm strength above key resistance levels.
Who Are Bulls and Bears in the Market
Bulls are participants in the cryptocurrency or stock market who expect prices to rise. They buy assets, hold positions, or increase them if they expect the upward movement to continue. Their goal is simple: buy low and sell high.
Bears, on the other hand, bet on a decline. They sell assets, open short positions, or reduce risk in their portfolio if they believe the price will go lower. Their goal is to profit from a drop or protect capital from a drawdown.
Bull and Bear Markets: What Is the Difference
A bull market, or bull run, is a period of sustained growth when buyers control the movement and demand for assets remains high. In crypto, this phase is often accompanied by growth in Bitcoin and Ethereum, a revival in altcoins, inflows of liquidity, and strong risk appetite.
A bear market is a prolonged decline in which sellers are stronger than buyers and rebounds quickly lose momentum. The main difference is in expectations: in a bull market, participants are more likely to buy on dips, while in a bear market, they sell rebounds and are more cautious about risk.
The possible start of a bull market is usually indicated by several signals:
- The price consolidates above important resistance levels, and pullbacks become less deep.
- Trading volume and open interest grow without sharp spikes in panic.
- Major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum pull the market up, and then altcoins join the movement.
- The backdrop for rates, the US dollar, and stock indexes becomes softer for risk assets.
How Investors Act in a Bull Market
In a bull market, investors often use buying on pullbacks, gradually build positions, hold strong assets, and partially lock in profits. Bulls usually bet on the trend continuing, while bears may look for short entry points, hedge their portfolio, or sell after weak rebounds.
The main mistakes in a bull run are buying only out of fear of missing out, using excessive leverage, ignoring invalidation levels, and holding the entire position without taking profits. Risk can be reduced by position sizing, stop orders, partial profit-taking, and checking liquidity before a trade.
To assess a bullish trend, look at the structure of highs and lows, resistance breakouts, volumes, moving averages, RSI, MACD, and candlestick patterns. If the price makes new highs, volume confirms the move, and indicators do not show clear overheating, the trend looks more sustainable.
In exchange slang, there are other market animals:
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Article”,
“about”: [
{
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “Bitcoin”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “cryptocurrency”
},
{
“@type”: “Place”,
“name”: “United States of America”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “US dollar”
},
{
“@type”: “Place”,
“name”: “China”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “volatility”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “margin trading”
},
{
“@type”: “Thing”,
“name”: “investments”
}
]
}
- Whales—large players whose trades can noticeably move the market.
- Sheep—inexperienced participants who often follow the crowd.
- Wolves—aggressive traders quickly seeking profit in strong moves.
- Hares—short-term speculators who frequently enter and exit trades.
