US stocks and crude oil continued their upward trend this week, but the crypto market failed to keep pace with the recovery in risk appetite. The S&P 500 recorded its longest weekly winning streak since 2023, Brent crude oil remained around $92 per barrel, while Bitcoin and Ethereum both declined during the week.
Macro assets continue to rebound
The main factor driving improved market sentiment was the expectation that the US and Iran would extend their ceasefire for another 60 days. Fueled by this expectation, the S&P 500 rose for the ninth consecutive week, rebounding nearly 20% from its March lows.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil remained around $92, and U.S. Treasury prices also rebounded during the week, recovering some of the losses caused by previous geopolitical conflicts.
However, the foundation for this rebound is not solid. US President Trump stated that he would make the "final decision" on whether to sign a preliminary agreement, while reiterating that Iran must abandon its nuclear program, hand over enriched uranium, and open the Strait of Hormuz. These conditions are clearly beyond what Iran has publicly stated it can accept.
Mainstream crypto assets failed to follow the price increase
Despite a strong macro market, mainstream crypto assets have generally underperformed. CoinDesk data shows that over the past 7 days:
- Bitcoin fell 2.6% to $73,445.
- Ethereum fell 2.5% to $2,011.
- Solana fell 2.2% to $82.42.
TRX fell by 5.6%, making it one of the worst-performing assets among the top ten tokens by market capitalization this week. DOGE remained largely unchanged, without showing any clear directional breakout.
The article mentions that the slowdown in inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs is one of the significant sources of pressure for the recent price decline. In other words, while US stocks and crude oil were supported by ceasefire expectations, the crypto market lacked corresponding incremental buying.
HYPE stands out as one of the few bright spots
Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, smaller-cap and exchange-related tokens outperformed. Hyperliquid's HYPE rose 19.4% this week to $65, becoming the best-performing asset among major tokens.
At the Bernstein conference, Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher mentioned that this decentralized perpetual contract platform is "larger than Nasdaq," further increasing market attention on HYPE.
In addition, BNB rose 1.9% and XRP rose 0.7% during the week, making them among the few mainstream tokens to record positive returns.
The ceasefire expectation still needs to be realized.
Looking at cross-market performance, current funds are more willing to bet on traditional risky assets rather than simultaneously increasing their allocation to crypto assets. This means that even with improved macro sentiment, the crypto market has not yet escaped its problem of weak liquidity.
If US-Iran negotiations falter again, the current rebound in US stocks and crude oil, driven by ceasefire expectations, could quickly cool down. For the crypto market, macroeconomic positives have not yet translated into direct support; changes in ETF fund flows remain a more noteworthy short-term signal.
