Bitcoin edged higher on Monday but remained trapped in a narrow trading range as geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran and uncertainty over upcoming U.S. crypto regulations kept investors cautious.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose around 0.8% to $63,561.5, recovering slightly after falling close to 3% last week.
Iran Tensions Keep Crypto Traders Cautious
Risk appetite remained weak as tensions between the United States and Iran continued to affect global markets.
The ongoing standoff around the Strait of Hormuz has contributed to higher oil prices and increased geopolitical uncertainty.
That environment has reduced demand for more speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, limiting Bitcoin’s ability to stage a stronger recovery.
Bitcoin ETFs Continue to See Outflows
Another source of pressure has come from continued withdrawals from major spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $390 million in net outflows last week, according to data from SoSoValue.
The weekly outflow was the largest since early July and coincided with Bitcoin’s nearly 3% decline over the same period.
The weakness has left Bitcoin trading substantially below its record high reached in October.
White House Crypto Meeting Comes Into Focus
Investors are also awaiting an important White House meeting involving senior figures from the cryptocurrency industry.
President Donald Trump is expected to attend a meeting of the administration’s new innovation committee on Wednesday.
The gathering is expected to include cryptocurrency executives, prediction-market leaders and representatives from traditional finance and artificial intelligence.
Market participants will be watching closely for any indication of how the administration intends to approach digital-asset policy.
U.S. Crypto Regulation Remains a Key Market Risk
Wednesday’s White House discussions are expected to be followed by another meeting at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday.
The CFTC meeting is expected to address additional cryptocurrency regulation.
Regulatory uncertainty remains elevated as lawmakers continue debating the long-delayed Clarity Act, which could play an important role in establishing clearer rules for the U.S. digital-asset industry.
Traders are therefore reluctant to make large bets ahead of potentially important policy developments.
Bitcoin Lags Recent Tech Stock Rally
Cryptocurrencies also underperformed technology and artificial intelligence stocks during the previous week.
Major tech shares received support from encouraging earnings reports across the semiconductor industry, improving sentiment toward AI-related stocks.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market failed to participate fully in that rally, highlighting the more cautious sentiment currently surrounding digital assets.
Ethereum and Altcoins Recover
The broader cryptocurrency market moved modestly higher on Monday as Bitcoin recovered from last week’s losses.
Ethereum rose around 1.2% to $1,903, after falling approximately 1.8% during the previous week.
XRP and BNB also recorded modest gains, while Solana and Cardano moved higher.
Among major meme coins, Dogecoin gained roughly 0.9%, while the TRUMP token advanced around 1%.
Bitcoin Outlook Remains Sensitive to Geopolitics and Regulation
Bitcoin’s near-term direction is likely to remain heavily influenced by geopolitical developments, ETF flows and regulatory signals from Washington.
An easing of tensions around Iran or renewed inflows into Bitcoin ETFs could improve market sentiment.
However, continued geopolitical uncertainty and unclear U.S. regulatory policy may keep investors cautious and limit the cryptocurrency’s upside in the short term.
For now, Bitcoin remains close to $63,500, with traders watching both Washington and the Middle East for the next major catalyst.
