Bitcoin bounces near $64K as geopolitical ceasefire triggers relief rally

A phone call between world leaders halted a week-long crypto selloff, but the Fear and Greed Index at 8 shows the market is far from healed.

Bitcoin rose 2.9% to $62,990 on June 8 after Israel halted military strikes on Iran at former President Donald Trump's request, triggering a broad relief rally across risk assets.

"The bounce is real, but so is the damage — over $2 billion in futures positions were liquidated during the selloff, and the market is still deeply oversold," said Nina Volkov, crypto macro analyst at Edgen.

The intraday range stretched from $61,166 to $64,128, with trading volume climbing 17% over the prior 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum rose 3.7% to near $1,700, while Solana added 3.4% to trade around $67. The moves came after Israel Defense Forces confirmed on June 8 that the Israeli Air Force struck military targets in western and central Iran in retaliation for Iran's missile attack, breaking the April ceasefire. Trump said Netanyahu would have "no choice" but to accept a US deal with Iran, per the Financial Times.

The $2 billion in liquidations cleared significant leveraged positioning, which can support near-term price stability. But with the Fear and Greed Index at 8 — historically rare territory — and Bitcoin still down nearly 11% on the week despite Monday's gains, the market has not found its footing. The next test is whether the ceasefire holds; any breakdown could send Bitcoin back toward $60,000 support.

$2B in Liquidations Reshuffled the Board

The scale of the liquidation event matters for what comes next. CoinGlass data shows total Bitcoin futures open interest fell 0.70% to $44.69 billion in the 24 hours through Monday, with CME OI rising 1.30% while Binance OI dropped 1.45%. When that much leveraged money gets flushed out, the pool of overleveraged longs waiting to become forced sellers shrinks, creating a cleaner base for any sustained recovery.

The selloff was triggered by geopolitical risk, not a crypto-native event. Bitcoin's 14% drawdown to near two-year lows came as Israel escalated military operations against Iran, and traders sold what was most liquid — crypto trades 24/7 with no circuit breakers. The pattern has repeated across multiple geopolitical crises: Bitcoin does not act as a safe haven in real-time fear events; it trades as a high-beta risk asset.

Macro Headwinds Remain

The relief rally faces headwinds beyond geopolitics. The US dollar index climbed above 100 on Monday after rising more than 1% last week, supported by strong jobs data that reinforced expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to around 4.57% as renewed inflationary pressures pushed yields higher. WTI and Brent crude climbed more than 3% to $93 and $96 per barrel, respectively, after the fresh exchanges between Israel and Iran.

For traders watching levels, Bitcoin's intraday high of $64,128 represents near-term resistance, with support at $61,166 — Monday's low — and the psychologically important $60,000 level below that. Analysts including Benjamin Cowen and Michael van de Poppe have pointed to Bitcoin closing the week above the 200-week SMA after sweeping February lows as a constructive technical signal.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.