Bitcoin experienced significant volatility on Monday, hitting a one-week high as it briefly broke through the $70,000 threshold in early trading. According to Reuters, the market had been buoyed by high expectations surrounding a potential 45-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire—dubbed the “Islamabad Agreement”—which triggered a wave of risk-on buying across cryptocurrency, stock, and oil markets. However, as the 48-hour deadline set by Donald Trump approached, that optimism quickly cooled. Bitcoin subsequently retreated by approximately 3%, trading at roughly $68,300 by Monday evening.
During the price swings, the crypto market saw roughly $273 million in short positions liquidated within a 24-hour window. Data from Polymarket indicates that the probability of a ceasefire being reached by April 30 currently sits at about 28%. Analysts at Bitget Wallet noted that if the geopolitical situation de-escalates completely, Bitcoin has the potential to push past the $90,000 level.
Institutional Investors Continue to Accumulate Crypto Assets
Despite the shifting market sentiment, major institutional players have not slowed their buying. MicroStrategy announced on Monday that it had purchased 4,871 Bitcoins for a total of $330 million, at an average price of $67,700 per coin. The acquisition was primarily funded through its STRC preferred shares, which contributed $227 million to the purchase. With this addition, MicroStrategy’s total Bitcoin holdings have reached approximately 767,000, accounting for about 3.65% of the total circulating supply.
Meanwhile, Tom Lee’s BitMine has been equally aggressive. According to recent filings, BitMine added 71,252 Ethereum to its portfolio last week, an investment worth roughly $152 million. The firm now holds approximately 4.8 million ETH, valued at over $10.3 billion, representing nearly 4% of Ethereum's total circulating supply. BitMine currently generates about $272 million in annual yield by staking 3.14 million of its held Ethereum.
On the infrastructure front, Polymarket announced a major overhaul of its trading platform, including the launch of a native stablecoin, “Polymarket USD.” The stablecoin will be pegged 1:1 to USDC, with the move aimed at consolidating the platform’s lead in the prediction market by restructuring its order book and settlement systems. Furthermore, Circle’s Layer-1 blockchain, Arc, announced that its mainnet will feature built-in quantum-resistant signature support to mitigate future security threats posed by quantum computing. This technical roadmap has already secured backing from several major institutions, including BlackRock, Visa, and Goldman Sachs.