Summary: Bitcoin dropped under $76,500, losing 1% since midnight and 3% on the week, after fresh U.S. military strikes against Iranian facilities pushed Brent crude above $93 per barrel and WTI close to $90. The surge in energy costs drove the 10-year Treasury yield toward 4.8%, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.31% and the Dollar Index gained 0.13% since midnight.
Bitcoin BTC trades near $76,500 after retreating over 1% since midnight UTC and 3% across the previous seven days, pressure mounting on risk-on assets due to escalating U.S. strikes targeting Iranian installations.
Brent crude surged past $93 a barrel alongside West Texas Intermediate nearing $90 as geopolitical tensions worsened. Meanwhile, the Dollar Index (DXY) climbed 0.13% since midnight.
The 10-year Treasury yield advanced toward 4.8% reflecting inflationary concerns tied to higher energy expenses, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.31% and S&P 500 futures slid 0.11%.
Derivatives positioning
- Sentiment turns bearish: Coinglass metrics indicate the 24-hour long-short taker volume ratio shifted downward, with short positions making up 51.5% of the activity following multiple days of neutral readings. Trading volume expanded 19% to reach $203 billion within 24 hours, whereas open interest (OI) held steady near $136 billion for a second day.
- BTC positioning stays light: Despite the downward price momentum in bitcoin, traders show no inclination toward utilizing leverage to short the declining market. Futures open interest remained constant over 24 hours around 700,000 BTC. Overall exposure stays minimal, with open interest remaining far under the annual peak of 801,000 BTC.
- Ether shorts build up: Ether presents a different picture, as open interest ticked upward concurrently with falling prices, a classic signal of short positions accumulating in the market. Total open interest grew to 13.72 million tokens—the highest mark since August 18—though still well below the May record of 15.68 million tokens.
- Bears lead on order flow: Cumulative volume deltas (CVD) spanning 24 hours for both bitcoin and ether likewise suggest bearish dominance dictating market direction. Negative figures demonstrate that shorts are being executed directly at market prices rather than through passive limit orders. This trend persists across major tokens excluding Uniswap’s UNI.
- UNI rally continues, no signs of overheating: UNI prices escalated another 4% over 24 hours to touch a seven-month peak of $6.37, while futures open interest reached a record 89.44 million tokens, confirming the spot price appreciation. This advance does not appear overheated, given annualized funding rates remain beneath 10%, indicating a tilt toward bullish long positions free from the excessive crowding that often triggers sudden long liquidations and price sell-offs.
- TRX shorts stay crowded: TRX maintains an overcrowded bearish posture for a second straight session, displaying funding rates close to minus 85%.
- Volatility signals calm: The 30-day implied volatility benchmarks for both BTC and ETH have shed their mid-August spikes, hinting at market expectations for future stability.
- Options flow turns cautious: On Deribit, the $70,000 BTC put option expiring September 25 stands as the leading 24-hour contract by volume, though the remaining top four positions are call options representing bullish wagers. Regarding ether, the $2,200 put expiring September 11 recorded the heaviest trading volume, with the rest of the top five dominated by puts. Traders utilize put options to hedge against or speculate on potential drops in the underlying asset’s value.
Token talk
- Ether.fi (ETHFI) outperformed the altcoin sector, advancing 4.63% since midnight to roughly 58.9 cents, representing one of the select tokens maintaining buyer demand while the broader market weakened.
- Monero (XMR) increased 2.27% to about $516, prolonging an upward trajectory that brought the privacy coin up from $464 a week prior. XMR has proven to be among the most resilient assets over the past fortnight, largely isolated from the forces driving the rest of the crypto market.
- Rival privacy asset zcash (ZEC) also traded positively by adding 1% to reach $824.63, accumulating a 71.23% gain over a 30-day window.
- Arbitrum ARB extended Tuesday’s rally, climbing an additional 9.33% over 24 hours to 11.68 cents as revenue generated by Robinhood Chain continued flowing into the Arbitrum DAO treasury.
- Losses were spearheaded by DASH, dropping 4.72% since midnight to $41.82, alongside PUMP falling 3.54% to 0.4223 cents and NEAR declining 2.29% to $1.8429. XRP ranked among the laggards among large-cap tokens, retreating 1.72% to $1.3281 and extending a weekly decline of 6.22%.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/02/bitcoin-slips-below-usd77-000-as-u-s-strikes-on-iran-send-oil-above-usd93.
