Bitcoin recaptured the $110,000 level for the second consecutive day, perhaps dragged higher by even larger gains among altcoins.

Up 0.9% more than 1% in the last 24 hours, bitcoin was trading just above $110,000 shortly after the close of U.S. stock markets Tuesday. The CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, exchange coins and memecoins — has risen 3.3% in the same period of time, mostly thanks to ether ETH, solana SOL, chainlink LINK all gaining 5%-7%.

The standout performances, however, were put on by uniswap UNI and aave AAVE, which soared a whooping 24% and 13%, respectively. The move was prompted by optimistic comments on the topic of DeFi by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins on Monday.

Things have remained relatively calm on the equities front, with most crypto stocks flat on the day. A notable exception is Semler Scientific (SMLR), a firm that aims to follow Strategy’s (MSTR) playbook and vacuum up as much bitcoin as possible. Shares fell another 10% today, with the stock now trading for less than the value of the bitcoin on its balance sheet.

Despite the day’s gains, positioning across crypto markets still reflects a largely defensive tone.

“Funding rates and other leverage proxies point toward a steadily cautious sentiment in the market,” Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33 Research, pointed out in a Tuesday report. “The broad risk appetite is remarkably weak, given that BTC is trading close to former all-time highs.”

Binance’s BTC perpetual swaps posted negative funding rates on multiple days last week, with the average annualized funding rate now sitting at just 1.3% — a level typically associated with local market bottoms rather than tops, Lunde noted.

“Bitcoin does not usually peak in environments with negative funding rates,” he wrote, adding that past instances of such positioning have more often preceded rallies than corrections.

Flows into leveraged bitcoin ETFs paint a similar picture. The ProShares 2x Bitcoin ETF (BITX) currently holds exposure equivalent to 52,435 BTC — well below its December 2023 peak of 76,755 BTC — and inflows remain muted. This defensive positioning, according to Lunde, leaves room for a potential “healthy rally” in BTC to develop.

Still, not all market watchers are convinced that the current price action marks the start of a sustainable breakout.

“Is this a true breakout that will continue? In my view, probably not,” said Kirill Kretov, senior automation expert at CoinPanel. “More likely, it’s part of the same volatility cycle where we see a rally now, followed by a sharp drop triggered by a negative announcement or some other narrative shift.”

According to Kretov, the current environment favors experienced traders who can navigate volatility-driven market structure. Technically, he sees BTC’s next key support levels at $105,000 and $100,000 — zones that could be tested if selling pressure returns.