Bitcoin reaches 12-week high, nears $80,000 on US-Iran deal optimism

By Suvashree Ghosh

 

Bitcoin continued a slow ascent toward $80,000 on Monday as investors weighed the latest developments in the US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. 

The original cryptocurrency was up as much as 1.6 per cent to $79,488, its highest level since Jan. 31, the last time it was above $80,000. It was trading around $79,100 at 12 p.m. in Singapore. Ether, the second-largest digital asset, gained as much as 1.7 per cent.

 

Asian shares advanced on Monday following a report from Axios that Iran has offered a new proposal to the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The closing of the critical trade waterway has driven swings in oil and risk assets during the war with the US and Israel. Crude oil also pared gains from earlier in the day. 

 

“The risks are real. US-Iran peace deal odds have collapsed, a macro overhang that could reprice risk assets broadly,” said Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets. “$80,000 is where many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, which is typically where selling pressure emerges as they rotate out of their positions.”

 

Bitcoin has been grinding back toward the $80,000 level in recent sessions as traders covered short positions and institutional demand improved. The token is up 16 per cent so far in April, putting it on pace for its first monthly double-digit gain since May 2025. The Michael Saylor-led Bitcoin accumulator Strategy Inc. has bought $3.9 billion worth of the token so far this month, the most in a year, according to company data compiled by Bloomberg.

 

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen a notable recovery in demand this month. Net inflows in April have reached roughly $2.5 billion, putting it on pace to double March’s total. Institutional buyers returned to the funds in March after four consecutive months of net outflows.