Leading cryptocurrencies lifted late on Sunday alongside stock futures as investors weighed the pause in hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.
Bitcoin lifted to $65,500 late in the day, only to face sharp resistance from the bears. Trading volume rose nearly 9% over the last 24 hours.
Ethereum followed a similar path, spiking to an intraday high of $1,960 only to reverse sharply and retreat lower.
Over $200 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with $160 million in bearish short positions erased, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin's open interest fell 1.75% over the last 24 hours. A decrease in open interest alongside an increase in spot price typically indicates short covering, signaling that short sellers are buying back contracts to exit positions.
That said, "Fear" sentiment prevailed in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.22 trillion, following a contraction of 0.54% over the last 24 hours.
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Stock futures rallied overnight on Sunday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures jumped 253 points, or 0.49%, as of 8:50 p.m. EDT. Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.66%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 1.21%.
The U.S. has held off attacking Iran since Friday night after striking for 13 days. Iran has also stopped its retaliatory attacks since then. However, Washington continued its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Michaël van de Poppe, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, declares the cryptocurrency market bottom is "very likely" in, with a strong bet on the Ethereum ecosystem and altcoins outperforming Bitcoin.
"Big week upon us," the analyst projected.