Bitcoin Holds Near $66K as Options OI Tops $34B, Crypto Funding Cools to $757M

Crypto News

South Korea's largest housing market displayed a widening barbell pattern in May, as transactions clustered at both the premium and lower-priced ends while the middle thinned. Sales above 2 billion won climbed to 13.6% of Seoul apartment deals, up 3.2 points from January, while the 300-to-600 million won bracket rose to 19.5% from 15.8%. The dominant 600-to-900 million won tier slipped 3.5 points to 23.8%. Ultra-prime demand concentrated in Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Yongsan, where high-end shares jumped sharply, while mid-priced buying surged across outer districts. Analysts attribute the divergence to lending curbs and an unsettled rental market reshaping where capital can actually transact.

Ethereum derivatives positioning leaned bullish, with options open interest expanding to $5.47 billion, a 3.21% gain on the prior day. Calls accounted for 61.18% of outstanding contracts against 38.82% puts, signaling that medium-term traders are still building upside exposure. Daily turnover reached roughly $550 million, with the $1,950 call dated June 16 ranking as the single most active contract, followed by a $1,400 put. The heaviest open interest sat in the $2,000 and $2,500 June calls and a $3,200 December call. As an altcoin bellwether, Ether's skew offers a read on risk appetite beyond Bitcoin, though elevated put volume hints at hedging into near-term volatility.

In biotech, rare-disease developer Ascendis Pharma reinforced its hypoparathyroidism franchise with fresh long-term data on TransCon PTH. Week 182 results from the Phase 3 PaTHway trial showed 86% of treated patients met the composite endpoint, while 89% completed the roughly three-and-a-half-year study. Kidney function and quality-of-life measures improved meaningfully and then held steady, with no anti-PTH antibodies detected. Separately disclosed five-year Phase 2 follow-up data showed 82% of patients reaching their treatment goal at week 266 and 95% remaining on therapy. The company also booked first-quarter revenue of 247 million euros and agreed to sell a priority review voucher for $187.5 million.

Bitcoin options markets echoed the bullish tilt seen in Ether. Aggregate open interest rose 2.30% to $34.27 billion, with calls representing 60.23% of contracts versus 39.77% puts. Daily volume totaled about $1.7 billion across Deribit, CME, OKX, Binance and Bybit. The $66,000 call expiring June 15 topped turnover, trailed by a $63,500 put and a $66,500 call — strikes hugging Bitcoin's live spot near $66,000. The largest standing open interest clustered far higher, in the $120,000 December call and $80,000 July call, underscoring persistent long-dated upside bets even as spot trades well below those levels and the broader blockchain sector grinds through a cautious tape.

Risk appetite in equities flickered back on geopolitics. Memory giant SK Hynix surged 6.56% to 2.291 million won intraday, dragging a cluster of single-stock leveraged ETFs up by mid-to-high teens percentages. The catalyst was easing Middle East tension after President Donald Trump signaled a deal to end the US–Iran conflict, lifting hopes that Hormuz Strait shipping could normalize and relieve oil and currency pressure. Foreign-investor selling had punished semiconductors, leaving the sector primed for a snapback. Underlying demand from the AI and high-bandwidth-memory boom remains the structural story, the same secular thesis that has repeatedly pushed the stock toward record highs even amid broader macro caution.

Crypto venture funding cooled sharply in June. Just 28 rounds have closed so far this month, raising $757 million — a steep drop from May's $3.74 billion across 91 deals and roughly back to April's subdued pace. The standout transactions both landed on June 11: Canton Network secured a $335 million strategic round led by a16z, while lender Kiavi was acquired by Figure for $717 million. Over the trailing three months, prediction markets attracted the most capital at about $1.83 billion, ahead of exchanges and AI. DeFi-adjacent payments led six-month deal share at 31.25%, with Coinbase Ventures ranking as the most active investor.

Taken together, these threads sketch a market caught between caution and selective conviction. COINOTAG's aggregate data frames the mood: the Fear & Greed Index sits at 20, deep in Extreme Fear, while Bitcoin dominance has climbed to 70.3% and total crypto market capitalization holds near $1.87 trillion — a defensive configuration that often accompanies bear-market conditions, where capital crowds into Bitcoin and trims riskier exposure. Derivatives tell a subtler story, with call-heavy open interest across both Bitcoin and Ether pointing to traders positioning for an eventual recovery even as venture inflows dry up. With Bitcoin near $66,000 and funding thinning, the tape rewards patience over leverage.