Bitcoin fell 2%—to $62,687.6—as of 08:47 Chisinau time and lost 2.8% over the week.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency gave up its brief rebound after hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve dampened appetite for risky and speculative assets. Most altcoins also came under pressure.
Institutional investors have been pulling out of spot Bitcoin ETFs for the sixth consecutive week. Although the pace of capital outflows has slowed somewhat compared to previous weeks, this still points to waning investor interest in the crypto market—especially as investors are increasingly shifting toward stocks of artificial intelligence companies with more transparent fundamentals.
Why did this happen?
The U.S. and Iran unexpectedly canceled peace talks that were scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday.
Iranian media reported that Tehran did not send a delegation to Switzerland for the planned talks, and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was supposed to lead the American delegation, also declined to participate in the meeting on Thursday evening.
According to Reuters, the talks were officially canceled by Friday morning, as reported by the Swiss Foreign Ministry.
Iranian media noted that Israel’s ongoing military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon remain a key sticking point for Tehran.
This occurred despite the fact that the U.S. and Iran had signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding calling for a cessation of hostilities and the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Friday’s talks were supposed to be the first in a 60-day period of dialogue on Iran’s nuclear program.
