Bitcoin Holds $66K Steady While Half the Network Prays for the Red to Go Away

Bitcoin is clinging to the $66,000 level like a degen clinging to a dead meme coin, as U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly pivoted towards prioritizing an exit from the Iran war. The largest crypto asset hasn't moved much in either direction lately—apparently even digital gold needs a geopolitical ceasefire to feel motivated.

According to administration officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, Trump is willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. Per the WSJ, Trump has decided the U.S. should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran's navy and missile stocks, winding down hostilities while applying diplomatic pressure on Tehran to resume free trade. Because apparently, even wars need a business case these days.

If that fails, Washington would press European and Gulf allies to take the lead on reopening the chokepoint—because nothing says "American exceptionalism" quite like delegating your own traffic control.

At a White House press briefing Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that ensuring safe passage for oil tankers through the strait is not one of the "core objectives" of the campaign. So to summarize: we went to war to close a strait, and now keeping it closed is also off the table. Someone check if this counts as a rug pull.

In a Truth Social post Monday, Trump reiterated threats to target Iran's energy infrastructure "and possibly all desalinization plants" if the strait is not "Open for Business" following "serious discussions" with the Iranian regime. Nothing says "negotiate in good faith" quite like threatening someone's water supply in the same breath as offering peace talks.

Trump's pivot reflects his broader strategic approach rather than a change of intent, Erik Amirbai Lang, co-founder of movement-driven cryptocurrency project N4T, told Decrypt. From the outset, his actions signaled pressure and deterrence rather than commitment to a prolonged conflict, given his reluctance to accept U.S. casualties and preference for deal-making over military escalation, Lang argued. Basically, Trump came in with the energy of someone who read the cliff notes on foreign policy and decided to wing it.

Economic costs, risks to global markets, and lack of domestic backing constrained deeper involvement, with initial actions aimed at demonstrating strength to reduce the need for further escalation, he added. Turns out endless wars are expensive, and no one told Washington that before they deployed.

Meanwhile, holders of around 9.4 million Bitcoin, or approximately 47% of the total circulating supply, are sitting on unrealized or paper losses, according to a new report from CEX.io Research. That's nearly half the supply staring at red numbers and wondering where it all went wrong. For context, that's enough Bitcoin to make approximately 177,000 people each worth about 53 BTC—assuming they haven't panic sold yet.

That includes more than 30% of the Bitcoin held by long-term holders, or $304 billion worth of the largest crypto asset, which is now underwater—the highest share since 2023, according to the report. So much for that "LTHs never sell" narrative we've all been repeating like a prayer.

"Long-term holders are now selling at their deepest losses in three years, and the speed of the reversal indicates..." Well, it indicates they're human after all, which might be the most shocking development of this cycle.

The S&P 500 and the broader financial markets noted immediate gains following this development, but have since slid lower