Bitcoin slips as U.S.-Iran peace deal hopes offset by crypto ETF outflows

Investing.com -- Bitcoin on Sunday gave up earlier gains to tick slightly lower, as a boost to U.S.-Iran peace deal hopes was offset by sustained outflows from crypto-linked exchange-traded funds and a continued pullback following a legislative breakthrough nearly two weeks ago.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down 0.1% to $76,697.1 by 17:23 ET (21:23 GMT). It hit a session high earlier at $77,349.7.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he had instructed U.S. negotiators "not to rush into a deal" with Iran and that both sides "must take their time and get it right." The president also said that the agreement had not "even" been "fully negotiated yet."

Trump’s comments come a day after he said a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal between Washington and Tehran had been "largely negotiated" after a call with several leaders from Middle Eastern countries.

The U.S. and Iran have been locked in a protracted ceasefire for over a month as both parties and mediators in the Gulf hammer out an agreement. Key sticking points between the warring nations have been the reopening and overseeing of the critical Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Trump has repeatedly said that he will not accept any deal that will allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Media reports from both Saturday and Sunday laid out some of the details of the agreement, including an extension of the current ceasefire between Washington and Tehran by 60 days, a reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and the allowing of Iran to resume unrestricted oil exports. 

"If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of CASH, and a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon. Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet," Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.

Bitcoin on Saturday had plumbed a session low below $75,000 until Trump’s announcement about a "largely negotiated" memorandum of understanding, following which it jumped. However, the advance ran out of steam on Sunday, as cryptocurrencies remain under pressure amid outflows from exchange-traded funds and an extended pullback following a U.S. Senate legislative breakthrough on May 14.

Market participants are closely watching fund flows and trading activity for signs of renewed investor interest following recent volatility. 

Attention is also turning to upcoming economic data and Federal Reserve policy signals, with traders assessing how interest rate expectations could affect demand for risk-sensitive assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin was also weighed down this week by a global bond sell-off driven by traders raising their expectations for interest rate hikes by central banks across the world in order to combat the emerging inflationary shock from surging oil prices. Higher rate environments tend to bode poorly for cryptocurrencies.

Crypto price today: altcoins mostly lower 

Looking at other altcoins, most were in negative territory.

World no.2 crypto Ethereum slipped 0.9% to $2,097.32.

World no. 3 crypto XRP shed 1.1% to $1.3445.

Solana and Cardano declined 1.6% and 2.3%, respectively.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin was down 1.6%.

Simon Mugo and Senad Karaahmetovic contributed to this article