Crypto Edges Higher as Iran Headlines Boost Equities, Weigh on Oil

Strive, led by Matt Cole, made a modest addition to its bitcoin holdings last week, purchasing 21 BTC and bringing its total to 19,921 coins. The firm also raised about $4.5 million by selling 443,797 shares, which lifted its cash reserves to $157.4 million from $154.1 million. Its shares were up 1.8% in pre-market trading.

BitMine Immersion, chaired by Tom Lee, reported a relatively small increase of 7,430 ether tokens—its smallest weekly addition this year. The company now holds around 4.8% of Ethereum’s total supply and also repurchased 5.5 million shares. Its stock rose 1.8% ahead of the open, supported by a slight weekend gain in ETH, though it remains down roughly 50% year-to-date.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy raised $263.5 million through a stock sale last week, with $225 million used to boost its cash reserves to $3.225 billion. The company continues to hold 843,775 bitcoin and has now gone two consecutive weeks without adding to its position, choosing instead to strengthen liquidity to support dividend payments tied to its preferred stock. The current reserve is enough to cover about 22 months of payouts. Shares gained 1.1% pre-market alongside bitcoin’s move toward $64,800.

On the infrastructure side, Hut 8 secured a second 15-year lease at its Beacon Point campus in Texas, doubling tenant capacity to 704 MW and increasing the deal’s value to approximately $19.6 billion. Its shares surged 16.7% before the open. IREN also announced new cloud services agreements worth $2.8 billion and raised its projected AI cloud annualized revenue to more than $4 billion, sending its stock up 9% in pre-market trading.

Chip stocks stabilized after last week’s sharp decline, with Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.4% and S&P 500 contracts adding 0.2%. The semiconductor ETF also edged higher, while Alibaba shares rallied in Hong Kong after previewing a new flagship AI model. Investors are now focused on upcoming earnings from major tech companies such as Alphabet, Tesla and Intel for signals on whether the AI-driven rally can continue.

Geopolitical developments also shaped market sentiment, as reports that Iranian mediators are proposing a 10-day ceasefire to revive talks with the U.S. pushed oil prices lower. WTI crude fell about $3 to $80 per barrel, while Nasdaq futures climbed 1% and bitcoin gained roughly 1% to $64,900.

In crypto markets, smaller tokens outperformed even as bitcoin traded sideways near $64,000. Pump.fun’s PUMP token jumped more than 16%, while Pi Network’s PI rose 12%. Tokens such as JUP, ING and BEAT posted modest gains, whereas Provenance Blockchain’s HASH dropped nearly 10%, making it the biggest decliner among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. ZEC, NIGHT and LIT also fell between 3% and 5%.

Earlier in the session, bitcoin slipped to around $63,900, down 1.3% on the day, as markets balanced rising oil prices driven by Middle East tensions against lingering weakness in AI-related equities. Ether, BNB, XRP and dogecoin all traded lower, while Brent crude briefly climbed above $91 per barrel, renewing concerns about inflation despite recent signs of easing price pressures in the U.S.