Bitcoin Cryptocurrency markets overall remained stable despite the risk of an Iran war, holding above $76,000 on Monday, rebounding from overnight lows.
The largest cryptocurrency has gained about 2.4% in the past 24 hours, recovering from losses below $74,000 earlier in the session. Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL) and other major altcoins also mirrored Bitcoin’s moves, with the CoinDesk 20 broader market up 1.7%.
This resilience comes against an unstable macro backdrop. U.S. forces opened fire on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, warning of further escalation as Tehran rejects a deal. The fragile ceasefire is set to expire later this week.
Oil prices rose 6% to near $90, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower, down about 0.3%-0.4%.
Crypto stocks were mixed. Coinbase (COIN) and Bitcoin vault Strategy (MSTR) gained about 2%, while Circle (CRCL) and Ethereum vault Bitmine (BMNR) edged down 1%-2%.
“Despite the new tensions, prices haven’t fully retreated yet, which suggests there is some real demand,” said Wintermute trader Jasper De Maere, who pointed to recent ETF spot inflows as a supportive factor. Unlike the rally earlier this year, the current move appears to be less driven by leverage, he said.
Still, the way forward remains geopolitically relevant. A renewed ceasefire could push Bitcoin back towards $80,000, while further escalation could keep the market under pressure.
Demel noted that capital continues to be concentrated in large-cap assets like Bitcoin while riskier altcoins lag, a typical pattern in a market environment driven by macro headlines.
KelpDAO hack leads to DeFi losses reaching $292 million
In addition to current price action, tensions remain high in the DeFi space following the biggest cryptocurrency breach of the year.
The $292 million KelpDAO hack rippled through the market as the flaw allowed attackers to drain funds, which were then used as collateral on lending protocols.
As these assets were widely integrated into DeFi, the impact spread quickly, with users scrambling to withdraw funds fearing bad debts and contagion.
According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) of DeFi protocols has dropped by $14 billion in the past two days, although asset prices have remained stable.
DeFi TVL fell to about $85 billion, its lowest level in a year and about 50% below its peak in October. Aave, the largest lending protocol at the center of the exploit, withdrew approximately $10 billion in deposits.
“There is a huge risk-reward imbalance in DeFi,” said David Shuttleworth of the Anchorage Digital protocol team. “Users will no longer accept interest rates that are slightly above (and sometimes even below) the risk-free rate for depositing into lending pools,” especially given the latest wave of cross-protocol vulnerabilities.
Read more: ‘DeFi is dead’: Biggest hack of year exposes contagion risks, sending crypto community into chaos