Bitcoin decelerated on Monday, ending a short-lived weekend recovery as traders digested mixed developments in diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran. Continued capital exiting cryptocurrency markets and a broader investor pivot toward high-performing artificial intelligence stocks kept upward momentum in check.
By 02:41 ET (06:41 GMT) Bitcoin traded down 0.4% at $64,045.6. The largest cryptocurrency had approached the $65,000 level over the weekend but lost steam heading into Monday.
Geopolitical updates offered a mixed backdrop. Iranian officials on Monday reported some progress in quadrilateral talks held in Switzerland over the weekend with the United States. Qatar and Pakistan, serving as mediators, expressed an upbeat tone about the discussions and said both Washington and Tehran agreed to pursue technical talks this week on a 14-point framework.
Those optimistic signals were tempered by earlier threats from U.S. President Donald Trump indicating Washington would resume strikes on Iran if Tehran did not restrain Hezbollah in Lebanon. Continued clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon remained a central issue in the negotiations. Tehran has repeatedly insisted that Lebanon and Hezbollah be part of any settlement, and over the weekend had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to recent Israeli actions.
Despite the mixed signals, the more positive comments around the talks over the weekend helped to limit losses by slightly improving risk appetite. Still, the crypto sector largely lagged markets driven by risk-on flows as investors favored assets tied to AI with clearer fundamental narratives.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds registered a sixth straight week of outflows last week, reflecting diminishing institutional demand for cryptocurrency exposure.
Wider crypto market moves
Broader cryptocurrency prices were subdued on Monday amid a lack of bullish, crypto-specific catalysts. Most altcoins were nursing notable losses for the week.
- Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset by market value, slipped 0.1% to $1,734.33.
- XRP fell 1.5%.
- BNB was largely unchanged.
- Solana rose 0.7%.
- Cardano declined 0.7%.
- Among memecoins, Dogecoin dropped 0.3%, while a token denoted as $TRUMP was reported to have jumped 6.1%.
Market participants cited both geopolitical uncertainty and the sector-wide outflows as headwinds for prices, while a continued reallocation of risk capital into AI-related equities offered an alternative destination for investors seeking growth with perceived clearer fundamentals.