Ethereum jumps 4.4% as U.S.-Iran tensions ease and Bitcoin reclaims $65,000

The day's main driver was geopolitical: reports that the U.S. and Iran stepped back from escalation sent oil prices down 5%, reducing the broader risk-off pressure that had been weighing on speculative assets. Crypto markets read that as a green light. Bitcoin climbed back above $65,000 — a level it had lost earlier in the week — finishing up 1.2%. Ethereum moved more decisively, gaining 4.4% to approach $1,964, outpacing Bitcoin by a wide margin and pulling the broader altcoin market with it. DeFi tokens were the clearest beneficiaries of Ethereum's session: Aave gained 8.6%, the day's biggest mover among tracked assets, as traders rotated into DeFi exposure on the back of ETH's strength. Solana added 1.9% and Hyperliquid rose 2.6%, both consistent with a broad risk-on tone rather than asset-specific catalysts. On the other side, Shiba Inu fell 11% — but that move reads as a hangover from the prior session's 33% spike rather than a response to today's news. Sharp reversals after outsized meme-asset rallies are common, and the Fear & Greed index sitting at 30 (Fear) suggests the broader market remains cautious despite today's recovery. The backdrop is not uniformly positive: cloud storage firm Storj filed for Chapter 11, extending what has been a difficult stretch for smaller crypto-adjacent businesses.

• –Cloud storage firm Storj filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with its token sliding 16% — the latest in a string of crypto-sector failures this week.
• –Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted Base, the company's Ethereum layer-2 network, after it processed over 100 million AI-agent payments — a milestone Armstrong framed as evidence of agentic finance gaining traction.
• –BitMart, a smaller exchange that announced a wind-down, saw withdrawals slow noticeably — a pattern that has historically preceded access restrictions at troubled platforms.