The world's largest cryptocurrency dipped below $70,000 last week as risk appetite remained weak and uncertainty over a key US regulatory measure also weighed on the market.

Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $67,391.3 by 11:10 AM ET.

Escalation with Iran in Focus After Houthi Attack on Israel

Markets are now monitoring a potential escalation in the war with Iran, especially after the Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthi militia launched missiles at Israel over the weekend. The Houthi's involvement could open a new front in the war, especially given their ability to strike in the Red Sea.

Separately, US President Donald Trump stated that negotiations with Iran are progressing well and that a ceasefire could be near, although he did not provide a clear timeline.

Trump also announced that Iran had allowed 20 oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz as a concession to the United States.

Iran has largely denied any direct negotiations with the US since the war began in late February. Over the weekend, Tehran accused the US of planning a ground invasion after Washington deployed thousands of troops to the Middle East.

While Bitcoin has performed relatively better than other assets since the start of the war with Iran, it still struggles to make significant progress, and its weekend losses also erased much of its gains in March. Uncertainty over a war with Iran remains a key factor curbing investor appetite for risk assets, as markets worry about the inflationary impact of high oil prices. Any stringent measures by global central banks to offset energy-driven inflation are negatively impacting speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Strategy potentially skips Bitcoin purchase for first time since late December

Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR), the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, may not have replenished its Bitcoin holdings last week, according to a Coindesk report.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor typically signals upcoming purchases in a post on X (formerly Twitter, blocked in Russia) every Sunday, followed by an announcement on Monday. However, this time, Saylor published a post promoting Strategy preferred shares. A potential pause in weekly purchases could break Strategy's 13-week buying streak since late December, during which the company has accumulated a total of 90,831 Bitcoin, Coindesk reports.

Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Altcoins Follow Bitcoin Up, but Sentiment Weak

Cryptocurrency prices generally rose on Monday, although sentiment toward the sector remains largely weak amid persistent risk aversion.

The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, rose 2% to $2,045.52, while XRP rose 1.5% to $1,3536.

Solana, Cardano, and BNB rose 0.4%-1.3%.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin gained 1.8%, and $TRUMP rose 1.9%.