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Ceasefire Rally Fades as ZEC and MON Lead Double-Digit Gains

Bitcoin briefly cleared $72k on geopolitical cooling but momentum stalls, while Zcash and Monad post explosive 22% moves amid shifting risk appetite.

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Market Overview: Relief Rally Meets Resistance

Bitcoin's brief surge above $72,000 on news of a US-Iran ceasefire has faded, leaving the market in a cautious consolidation phase. While major tokens are broadly green, the momentum appears to be cooling as traders assess the sustainability of the geopolitical-driven bounce.

Top Movers: Privacy and New L1s in Focus

ZEC (+22.03%) leads the pack with a dramatic surge, directly tied to the reduction in Middle East tensions. As a privacy coin often sensitive to geopolitical risk, Zcash is seeing classic 'risk-off to risk-on' rotation. However, its perpetual futures on Hyperliquid show a notably negative funding rate of -0.0084%, indicating that short sellers are paying longs to maintain their positions. This suggests professional traders are skeptical of this rally's longevity and are positioning for a potential pullback.

MON (+22.01%) follows closely, with the parallel Layer 1's token showing impressive strength. Its massive $1.64B Open Interest on Hyperliquid dwarfs its trading volume, indicating highly leveraged, directional bets are concentrated here. The positive funding rate suggests longs are paying shorts, a sign of bullish sentiment dominance—for now.

FARTCOIN (+17.05%) and other memecoins like kPEPE (+6.88%) are also participating, signaling a return of retail risk appetite. ENA (+13.18%) and NEAR (+9.41%) round out the notable gainers, suggesting the rally is broadening beyond Bitcoin.

The lone significant loser is LIT (-3.32%), a notable divergence in an otherwise green market. Its negative move against the trend warrants monitoring for sector-specific weakness.

Macro & News Context: Geopolitics Drive Short-Term Action

The market is clearly trading on macro headlines. The confirmed ceasefire between the US and Iran has removed a major overhang that pressured risk assets, triggering a classic 'bad news is over' bounce. This is evident in the concurrent drop in oil prices and rise in crypto. However, the rapid fade from the highs indicates this was largely a positioning squeeze rather than a fundamental shift. The substantial $471M in Bitcoin ETF inflows reported today confirms institutional buying is present, but it's being met with selling from miners and treasuries, creating the current equilibrium.

Derivatives Data: Positioning Tells a Cautious Tale

Hyperliquid's derivatives market reveals nuanced sentiment beneath the green screens.

Open Interest Concentration: The extreme OI for tokens like PUMP ($18.5B) and MON ($1.64B) relative to their volume points to potentially unstable, over-leveraged conditions. These are high-risk, high-reward setups prone to sharp liquidations.

Funding Rate Divergence: While most tokens show the standard 0.0013% rate, several stand out. ZRO shows a high positive rate of 0.0059%, and NEAR shows 0.0092%, indicating strong long-side pressure. Conversely, the deeply negative rates in AXS (-0.0324%) and MEME (-0.0177%) show concentrated short interest expecting these assets to underperform.

Total Platform Activity: With $7.4B in 24h volume and $46B in Open Interest, Hyperliquid is seeing robust activity, but the OI has not expanded dramatically with this rally, suggesting much of the action is intraday rather than new capital committing to longer-term positions.

Outlook: Consolidation Before Direction

The initial geopolitical relief rally is over. The market now faces its true test: can it hold these higher levels and attract sustained capital inflows? Watch for Bitcoin to establish a new base above $70,000 and for Ethereum to defend $2,200. The explosive moves in ZEC and MON are characteristic of a market searching for leadership beyond the majors, but the negative funding on ZEC is a glaring caution sign. Expect choppy, range-bound trading in the near term as the market digests the news and prepares for the next catalyst.

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