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BTC posts modest Monday gain, remains tied to Middle East developments

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BTC posts modest Monday gain, remains tied to Middle East developments

Bitcoin held onto gains Monday after an early surge above $70,000, but the rebound’s fate now hinges on what’s next between the U.S. and Iran.

The move followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a five-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, citing “productive” diplomatic talks.

Iranian officials denied the existence of talks, but markets largely brushed it off, with risk assets holding firm through the session.

Bitcoin hovered just below $71,000 later in the session, up 3.8% over the past 24 hours. Altcoins outperformed, with ether (ETH), solana (SOL) and each gaining around 5%.

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Crypto-linked equities also rallied, led by bitcoin miners, which have increasingly traded in line with AI infrastructure plays. Hut 8 (HUT) jumped more than 11%, while Bitfarms (BITF), Cipher Mining (CIFR), CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT) and TeraWulf (WULF) advanced 6%-7%.

Traditional markets joined the move higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closing about 1.2% up.

While the temporary pause has eased pressure in energy markets, traders should treat the rebound cautiously in risk assets.

“The macro ceiling has shifted,” said Jasper de Maere, OTC trader at Wintermute. “How much room opens up depends on the next five days.”

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If oil stabilizes and shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalize, he said, inflation concerns could ease, allowing rate-cut expectations to return and removing a key headwind for crypto.

In that scenario, bitcoin could make another run at the $74,000–$76,000 range, the level that has capped rallies in recent weeks, according to de Maere.

A breakdown in talks or renewed disruption to energy supply would have the opposite impact, he said. It would likely push oil higher again, reinforcing inflation risks and sending markets back into risk-off mode that could pull bitcoin back toward the mid-$60,000s.

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Crypto World

Balancer Labs Shuts Down, Protocol to Continue

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Balancer Labs Shuts Down, Protocol to Continue

Balancer Labs, the team behind the decentralized finance protocol Balancer, is shutting down after mounting financial pressure and a $116 million hack in November, with executives proposing continuation of the protocol under a leaner, more cost-effective structure.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to wind down Balancer Labs. This is not a decision I take lightly,” one of Balancer Protocol’s founders, Fernando Martinelli, said on Monday, adding that Balancer Labs has become a “liability rather than an asset to the protocol,” as it has been operating without revenue.

Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt added that it was spending too much to attract liquidity relative to the revenue the protocol is making, a strategy that came at the cost of diluting Balancer (BAL) token holders.

Source: Marcus Hardt

Balancer was one of the more notable DeFi protocols during the 2020–2021 bull market, reaching a peak of $3.3 billion in total value locked (TVL) in November 2021.

However, that figure fell to $800 million by October 2025, with the hack leading to another $500 million TVL drop over the next two weeks. Balancer’s TVL has since fallen to $158 million, showing how challenging it is for DeFi protocols to recover from large-scale hacks.

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Martinelli said the November exploit “created real and ongoing legal exposure” and that maintaining a corporate entity that carries the liability of past security incidents wasn’t sustainable.

Balancer Labs executives outline restructuring plan

Moving forward, Hardt and Martinelli are pushing for Balancer’s future to be managed by the Balancer Foundation and the protocol’s decentralized autonomous organization.

Martinelli advocated for Balancer to adopt a more “lean continuation path,” which involves cutting BAL emissions to zero, restructuring fees to enable Balancer’s DAO to capture more revenue, reducing the team as much as possible and targeting lower operating costs.