A convergence of record levels of global inventories, oil at its lowest level in several months and an attempt to extend the ceasefire between the United States and Iran have not helped to support bitcoin. price.
The largest token is still hovering around $73,000 after sliding nearly 6% for the week, as institutional buyers await clarity from U.S. regulations rather than macro headlines.
Ether (ETH) was trading just below $2,000, down 6.4% on the week even after a 1.2% rebound on the day, while Solana (SOL), XRP and each has lost between 4.9% and 6.7% over the past seven days despite slight gains over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk’s price page. Hyperliquide’s HYPE resisted the trend, up 5.8% over the week.
Meanwhile, the macro strip turned on. The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global stocks, climbed 0.3% to an all-time high, and Asian stocks rose 2% to their own record, 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 by 60 days and reopen negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The deal still needs to be approved by President Donald Trump, and Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the memorandum of understanding was not yet finalized.
This setup, in any other band, prints money for crypto, but that’s not the case this time.
Javier Martinez, CEO of sFOX, said in an email that the market had already priced in a relief rebound following the ceasefire announcement and trading unraveled when Bitcoin failed to achieve a rally higher.
Institutional investors are now looking beyond headlines in Tehran and toward Washington, he said, pointing to U.S. crypto market structure legislation like the CLARITY Act. “They are waiting for regulatory confirmation, not just macro improvement,” Martinez said.
FxPro analysts said Bitcoin has fallen below its 50-day moving average and the longer-term 200-day average is falling, the kind of crossover that tends to mark periods of broader weakness. “The time for a long-term bull market has not yet come,” they write.
Earlier this week, Swissblock said bitcoin had slipped into a “high-risk zone” amid selling pressure and dwindling bids from bitcoin spot ETFs, the institutional product that fueled much of the 2024-2025 rally. Weaker demand for ETFs and the market no longer trading all Iranian securities leaves crypto without an obvious short-term driver.
