A convergence of all-time highs in global stocks, oil at multi-month lows, and a tentative extension of the US-Iran ceasefire did little to boost Bitcoin. prices.
The largest token is still hovering around $73,000 after falling nearly 6% on the week as institutional buyers wait for US regulatory clarity rather than macroeconomic headlines.
Ether (ETH) traded just under $2,000, down 6.4% on the week, even after a 1.2% bounce on the day, while solana (SOL), XRP and each lost between 4.9% and 6.7% over the past seven days despite small gains in the past 24 hours, according to the CoinDesk price page. Hyperliquid’s HYPE broke the trend, rising 5.8% on the week.
Meanwhile, the macro tape turned on. The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global stocks, rose 0.3% to a record high, and Asian stocks rose 2% to a record of their own, Bloomberg reported.
Brent crude fell 0.5% to around $93 a barrel and is now down more than 18% in May, its worst month since March 2020, after the United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement to extend their ceasefire for 60 days and reopen talks on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The deal still needs approval from President Donald Trump, and Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the memorandum of understanding had not yet been finalized.
That setup, on any other tape, prints money for cryptocurrency, but this time it didn’t.
Javier Martínez, CEO of sFOX, said in an email that the market had already priced in a relief rally following news of the ceasefire and that the trade unraveled when Bitcoin failed to rise further.
Institutional investors are now looking beyond the headlines from Tehran and toward Washington, he said, pointing to US legislation on crypto market structure, such as the CLARITY Act. “They are waiting for regulatory confirmation, not just a macro improvement,” Martínez said.
FxPro analysts said bitcoin has fallen below its 50-day moving average and the longer-term 200-day average is falling, the type of crossover that has tended to mark periods of broader weakness. “The time for a long-term bull market has not yet come,” they wrote.
Earlier this week, Swissblock said bitcoin had slipped into a “high-risk zone” amid selling pressure and dwindling supply of spot bitcoin ETFs, the institutional product that fueled much of the 2024-2025 rally. Lower demand for ETFs and a market that no longer trades all Iran holders leave cryptocurrencies without an obvious near-term driver.
