Bitcoin edged higher on Monday, stabilizing after a volatile weekend as traders awaited further signals on a potential US-Israeli war with Iran following a possible escalation involving the Houthis.
The world's largest cryptocurrency fell below $70,000 last week as risk appetite remained weak, while uncertainty over a major U.S. regulatory action also weighed on the market.
Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $67,391.30 by 11:10 AM Saudi time.
Escalation with Iran is the focus after the Houthi attack on Israel
Markets are now watching for a possible escalation in the war with Iran, especially after the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen launched missiles at Israel over the weekend.
The Houthis’ intervention could open a new front in the war, especially given their ability to launch attacks in the Red Sea.
Separately, US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran were going well and that a ceasefire could be imminent, although he did not provide a clear timetable.
Trump also said that Iran allowed 20 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a concession to the United States.
Iran has so far largely denied any direct talks with the United States since the war began in late February. Over the weekend, Tehran accused the United States of planning a ground invasion after Washington deployed thousands of troops to the Middle East.
While Bitcoin has performed relatively better than other assets since the start of the war with Iran, it is still struggling to make significant progress, with its weekend losses also erasing most of its gains during March.
Uncertainty surrounding a potential war with Iran has been a major drag on investor appetite for riskier assets, as markets worry about the inflationary effects of rising oil prices. Any aggressive moves by global central banks to offset energy-driven inflation bode ill for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.
A strategy that could see Bitcoin buying break out for the first week since late December
Strategy& (NASDAQ:MSTR), the world’s largest institutional holder of Bitcoin, may not have added to its Bitcoin holdings last week, according to a report from CoinDesk.
CEO Michael Saylor typically hints at upcoming acquisitions in a post on the X platform every Sunday, followed by an announcement on Monday. This time, however, Saylor posted a message promoting Strategist's preferred stock offerings.
A potential pause in weekly purchases could bring to an end a 13-week streak of continuous buying by the strategist since late December, during which they amassed a total of 90,831 bitcoins, according to CoinDesk.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins are following Bitcoin's upward trend, but sentiment is weak.
Prices for the broader cryptocurrency sector rose on Monday, although sentiment towards the sector remained largely weak amid continued risk aversion.
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 2% to $2,045.52, while Ripple climbed 1.5% to $1.3536.
Solana, Cardano and BNB rose between 0.4% and 1.3%.
Among the meme coins, Dogecoin added 1.8%, while $TRUMP rose by 1.9%.
