The cryptocurrency market experienced significant volatility as reports emerged that Iran and the US could be inching closer to a deal. Bitcoin surged to a 12-week peak of just under $80,000 before being brutally rejected and driven down by roughly two thousand dollars in an hour.
The unexpected Monday morning pump came after The Kobeissi Letter cited information from Axios, reporting that Iran has provided the US a new proposal for reaching a deal on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war through Pakistani mediators. The known details include postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage.
US President Donald Trump is expected to hold a meeting with his top national security and foreign policy team on Monday to discuss how to move forward. Previously, he canceled the trip of the US delegation, led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Pakistan shortly after the Iranian counterparties left the country without opening any talks. The report also claimed that Trump wants to continue the US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a step that had previously sabotaged peace talks and pushed Iran to reclose the key passage.
BTC's price reacted with intense and immediate volatility after the report went live. Despite the weekend developments, which included an alleged attempt on Trump's life, the asset had remained sideways at around $78,000. However, it shot up to over $79,500 before being halted and pushed well below its starting point.
Most altcoins followed suit, causing an uptick in the total value of liquidated positions, which reached $275 million on a daily scale. The lion's share came in the past 6 hours when the fluctuations transpired.
The market now looks ahead to a crucial week featuring the US Federal Reserve's third FOMC meeting of the year on Wednesday, where interest rates are expected to remain unchanged. Thursday will see the release of Q1 2026 GDP data and March's PCE inflation data, which could bring additional volatility to risk-on assets like Bitcoin.
