Cryptocurrency markets treaded water Monday while traditional stocks pushed to new all-time highs, a split personality kind of day shaped by evolving political and geopolitical storylines.

The Crypto Scoreboard

Here's where the major digital assets stood as of 8:30 p.m. ET:

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 0.09% to $91,251.43. Ethereum (ETH) dropped 0.79% to $3,099.73. XRP (XRP) declined 0.60% to $2.05. Solana (SOL) fell 1.62% to $139.04. Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.64% to $0.1367.

Not exactly thrilling price action, but the volume told a more interesting story.

Volume Surges Despite Sideways Trading

Bitcoin made a run at $92,390 during early trading hours before losing momentum and settling back into the $91,000 range. Trading volume nearly doubled over the previous 24 hours, reaching $38.78 billion. That's a lot of activity for what amounted to essentially flat price movement.

Ethereum traded in a narrow band around the $3,000 level, though volume surged 66% to $19.73 billion. Again, big volume, small price moves.

Crypto-related equities had a better day. Strategy Inc. (MSTR) closed up 3.11%, while Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (BMNR) gained 3.56%.

The broader market wasn't feeling particularly bullish either. Over $230 million got liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass, with more than half of those losses coming from long positions. That's traders betting on higher prices getting squeezed out.

Bitcoin's open interest declined 2.82% over the same period, and the percentage of Binance traders placing long bets on the leading cryptocurrency dropped from 69% to 65%. The enthusiasm is cooling, at least for now.

A Few Winners Emerged

While the majors languished, a handful of smaller cryptocurrencies with market caps above $100 million posted solid gains. Story (IP) jumped 23.75% to $3.04. Verge (XVG) climbed 18.56% to $0.007063. BUILDon (B) rose 18.03% to $0.2720.

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.11 trillion, up a modest 0.11% over 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Stocks Kept Partying

Traditional markets kicked off the week with confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86.13 points, or 0.17%, closing at a record high of 49,590.20. The S&P 500 reached a record close of 6,977.2 after rallying 0.16%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished up 0.26% at 23,733.90.

Gold and silver also surged to record highs as investors reassessed Federal Reserve independence concerns following news that the Department of Justice opened a criminal probe into Chair Jerome Powell.

Oil prices edged higher too, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate trading up 0.42% at $59.75 a barrel as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran kept global energy markets nervous.

The Bitcoin Path to $100K

Here's where things get interesting. Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant pointed out that short-term holders—those who've owned Bitcoin for less than 155 days—are increasingly selling at a loss even as the cryptocurrency continues its broader uptrend.

"Historically, this misalignment between rising prices and capitulating retail investors often marks areas of opportunity, where short-term fear contrasts with the structural strength of the upward price trend," CryptoQuant stated.

Translation: when nervous short-term holders are panicking and selling while the price keeps climbing, that's often been a buying signal.

Michaël van de Poppe, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, noted Bitcoin's resilience above the 21-day moving average near $90,000, suggesting significant accumulation is happening at these levels.

"In that regard, cracking $92,000 clearly and we'll see $100,000 in max. 10 days," van de Poppe projected.

That's a bold call, but it's not coming from nowhere. If Bitcoin can convincingly break through $92,000, the technical picture would shift meaningfully. The question is whether buyers have enough firepower to push through that resistance while short-term holders are still shaking out.

For now, the market seems to be in a holding pattern, waiting for the next catalyst to pick a direction.