By Caleb Monroe - Bitcoin showed modest strength on Friday, rising to roughly $63,337.8 by 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT) as markets digested comments about a possible peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was up about 0.9% in intraday trade and had gained roughly 4% on the week after suffering about a 17% decline in the previous week.
Despite the uptick, overall gains in crypto were limited. Bitcoin remained close to its annual lows amid what market observers described as sustained institutional selling in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). That selling pressure has weighed on price momentum even as risk assets broadly rallied following comments from U.S. political leadership about progress toward a diplomatic settlement with Iran.
Markets reacted strongly to the comments - with both Wall Street and Asian equities rising - after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. had reached what he characterized as a peace deal with Iran that could be signed as soon as the weekend. He said the agreement would end the war with Iran and immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials in Tehran took a more cautious line, however. Local media reports quoted the foreign ministry as acknowledging progress on some points but also noting outstanding differences and that Iran had not reached a final decision on agreeing to any deal. Separately, military tensions persisted in the region, with Iran reported to have launched drone strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday.
Traders interpreted the president’s comments as reducing near-term energy risk, and oil prices tumbled. That drop in crude helped ease concerns around energy-driven inflation and the prospect of persistently higher interest rates tied to a wider regional conflict - factors that can influence risk appetite across asset classes including crypto.
Institutional flows into crypto continued to show pressure. Data compiled by market trackers indicated spot Bitcoin ETFs were headed for a fourth consecutive week of outflows, with $401.7 million leaving those products as of Thursday. That compared with a larger outflow of $1.72 billion the prior week, suggesting the pace of net redemptions had moderated but remained negative.
Market participants described a broader repositioning of capital away from crypto and toward other opportunities perceived as having stronger fundamentals, particularly artificial intelligence-related shares. In addition, positioning ahead of a large initial public offering tied to SpaceX - reported to have raised $75 billion on Thursday - was cited as a factor driving both retail and institutional flows out of crypto and into other assets.
Altcoins showed only modest movement on Friday, with bargain buying supporting small gains across the sector. Ether, the world’s number two crypto, slipped 0.1% to $1,653.22. XRP rose 1.4% to $1.1296. Solana, Cardano and BNB recorded increases in the range of 0.1% to 2.4%.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin was up roughly 0.6%, while the coin labeled $TRUMP advanced about 2.3%. Overall, the market picture was one of limited upside in the near term as liquidity flows and rotation into other sectors continued to shape price action.
Analyst note: Crypto performance this week reflects the interaction of geopolitical headlines, institutional ETF flows, and sector rotation into AI equities and a major SpaceX offering. Each of those forces is influencing risk appetite and portfolio allocation decisions that, in turn, are affecting price action across major tokens and their associated funds.