New York, June 22, 2026, 09:44 EDT
- Bitcoin ticked higher as investors found risk assets more attractive on signs of movement in U.S.-Iran talks.
- About $228 million left U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs last week, marking a sixth week of outflows.
- Strategy picked up $34.9 million in bitcoin last week, while its dollar reserve grew by about $300 million.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbed 1.9% to $65,201 on Monday, with an earlier high of $65,241 coming as signs of a U.S.-Iran peace breakthrough calmed oil worries and brought buyers back to risk.
Why does the move matter? Two big pieces of demand are missing. U.S. exchange-traded funds haven’t confirmed the rebound. Corporate buyer Strategy NASDAQ:MSTR is also on the sidelines. Last week, Strategy raised $335.5 million, selling 2.7 million shares, but it only spent $34.9 million on 520 bitcoin. It still has $1.4 billion in dollar reserves.
Oil dropped after the U.S. and Iran set a roadmap for a final agreement, which gave a jolt to the broader market early on. But traders stayed cautious, Dan Coatsworth at AJ Bell said, with the Middle East conflict still open and U.S. inflation numbers coming Thursday.
ETF outflows are still the focus. Spot bitcoin funds dropped about $227.5 million over the last four U.S. sessions to Thursday, Farside Investors’ data show. Redemptions hit $90.7 million just before the Juneteenth break.
Strategy bought fewer bitcoins last week, picking up 520 coins at an average price of $67,068. That’s down from 1,587 coins, worth $100 million, bought the week before. At Monday’s spot, bitcoin traded around 3% below what Strategy paid for the latest batch.
Strategy’s share sales are hitting bitcoin differently now. Arithmetic from Monday’s filing shows just 10 cents from every dollar raised last week went straight into bitcoin. Nearly 90 cents got parked in a reserve meant to cover preferred-stock dividends and pay debt interest.
The link between new MSTR stock sales and bitcoin buys just got looser. Issuing equity no longer points straight to a matching bitcoin purchase. The company is still buying bitcoin, but more cash is being used to manage the capital structure now.
Derivatives traders took a careful stance. Open interest in Bitcoin futures slipped to around 722,000 BTC from 801,000 on June 4. Puts, used to hedge against downside, stayed more expensive than bullish calls.
Ether rose 2.8% to $1,769, beating bitcoin. Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, said bitcoin sits “balanced between supportive and restrictive forces” and sees a range of $60,000 to $67,000 in the short term. CoinDesk
The bounce might not last if Iran talks run into trouble, if Thursday’s inflation numbers push Fed hike bets higher, or if ETF outflows start up again. JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said mining is getting tougher, with bitcoin trading below their $78,000 estimated cost to mine and more miners now close to break-even. More selling could hit if prices keep falling.
Monday’s ETF close is set to give Wall Street its first read on a rally that built up when U.S. funds were closed for Friday’s holiday. For now, the price move is ahead of the pace at which fresh ETF subscriptions or Strategy financing can react. Cash channels that usually backstop these moves have yet to catch up.
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