Bitcoin pares some gains, but holds above $66,000

The crypto also benefited from slowing capital outflows in spot exchange-traded funds, although ETFs still marked a fifth straight week of outflows

Bitcoin pared some gains on Monday, but remained in positive territory, recovering from recent losses after the announcement of an Iran-U.S. peace deal sparked a rally in risk-driven markets.

The crypto also benefited from slowing capital outflows in spot exchange-traded funds, although ETFs still marked a fifth straight week of outflows.

Bitcoin added 1.8% to $66,468.8 by 21:37 GMT.

Iran and U.S. on Sunday confirmed that they had agreed to a memorandum of understanding to end their war, with the deal set to be signed on Friday.

The agreement will include an immediate end in hostilities, coupled with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in 30 days.

Iran and U.S. will also discuss the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad.

Announcement of the deal spurred increased optimism over an end to the Iran war and its impact on the world’s economy.

Top Bitcoin corporate holder Strategy purchased an additional 1,587 BTC for around $100 million last week, paying an average of $63,024 per coin, according to a regulatory filing.

The acquisition, which took place between June 8 and June 14, brings the company’s total holdings to 846,842 BTC.

Co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor said the stash is now worth around $56 billion, accumulated at an average cost of $75,656 per bitcoin, with total expenditure of nearly $64.1 billion including fees and expenses.

Institutional outflows from spot ETFs eased slightly last week, although ETFs still marked a fifth straight week of outflows.

Spot ETFs saw capital outflows of $315.8 million last week, much smaller than the over $1 billion outflows seen in the past four weeks.

Continued ETF outflows largely limited any major recovery in Bitcoin, after the crypto plunged to annual lows over the past month.

Crypto markets were also seen coming under pressure from a broader pivot into artificial intelligence stocks, as investors sought assets with clearer fundamentals.