Bitcoin cools off after Friday’s spike as traders eye CME “gap” and DeFi fallout The crypto market has slid back from a brief run-up to multi-week highs as traders weigh a handful of technical and macro headwinds. Bitcoin is trading around $75,300 — well below Friday’s peak near $78,300 — while ether sits near $2,300, off Friday’s high of about $2,460. One focal point for investors is the CME bitcoin futures market, a venue popular with institutional participants. The contract closed Friday at $77,540 and reopened at $74,600 on Monday, leaving a 3.8% “CME gap” to the upside. Traders often watch these gaps closely — last week a similar gap appeared and was filled before the following Monday — and many will be watching to see whether this gap drives price action in the near term. There are signs sentiment may be warming: bitcoin has gained roughly 1.5% since midnight UTC, indicating some recovery after a volatile weekend. But risk appetite was dented over the past 48 hours by geopolitics and broader market moves. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz briefly halted after reopening on Friday, and the renewed disruption helped push crude oil from about $78 to $88 per barrel. That spike weighed on risk assets: Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were each down roughly 0.59% since midnight. Meanwhile, fallout from a recent DeFi hack remains a background concern for traders and liquidity providers, adding an extra layer of caution across decentralized markets. In short, markets are balancing bullish technical signals — including the CME gap — against geopolitical volatility and residual DeFi risk. Traders will be watching price action closely to see which force prevails. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news