Cryptocurrency markets started the week dynamically. Bitcoin rebounded after a steep overnight decline and settled above $76,000 on Monday. Although global risk appetite decreased, the market maintained its strong stance.
Market resilient despite geopolitical tensions
The geopolitical crises experienced over the weekend and the US’s statements regarding Iran particularly increased macroeconomic uncertainty. US President Donald Trump announced that American forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship and that he could take bigger steps if an agreement is not reached. Following these developments, fluctuations were observed in the markets. While oil prices rose 6 percent to approach $90, US stock markets suffered slight losses.
However, Bitcoin gained approximately 2.4 percent in the last 24 hours. Although it fell below $74,000 at the beginning of the session, it was able to recover in a short time. Other major crypto assets, ether, XRP and Solana, also followed Bitcoin’s move. CoinDesk 20 index increased by 1.7 percent.
Mixed picture in big company stocks
There was no clear direction in the stock market performance of crypto companies. While companies such as the US-based crypto exchange Coinbase and MicroStrategy, which holds Bitcoin reserves, gained approximately 2 percent in value, a 1-2 percent decrease was seen in Circle and Bitmine shares, known for its Ethereum reserves.
“If prices do not experience a serious retreat despite geopolitical pressures, this shows that the market has real demand,” said Jasper De Maere, one of Wintermute traders. De Maere stated that the recent increase in ETF purchases in the stock market also supports this picture. He also added that the current move, compared to the rises at the beginning of this year, was driven by spot demand rather than borrowing.
It was emphasized that the fact that prices remained strong despite geopolitical tensions indicated a real demand for Bitcoin, and new funds entering ETFs contributed to this.
On the other hand, it is frequently stated that the direction of the market will depend on political developments in the coming period. In particular, a possible new ceasefire could push Bitcoin closer to $80,000; It is predicted that tension will continue to put pressure on the market.
KelpDAO hack created panic in the DeFi market
While Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies have generally performed strongly, the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry has been rocked by the biggest cyber attack of the year. KelpDAO, which is among the DeFi applications with a rapidly increasing market value, faced the most serious attack in recent years. Attackers withdrew $292 million in assets from the platform by exploiting an existing security vulnerability. These acquired assets were used as collateral in many credit protocols in the DeFi ecosystem.
This created a chain panic in DeFi. Users began withdrawing their assets from the protocols en masse due to fears of bad debt and contagion. According to DefiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) on decentralized finance platforms decreased by $14 billion in the last two days.
The total locked value of DeFi decreased to approximately $85 billion, falling to the lowest level in the last year. There was a loss of approximately 50 percent compared to the October peak. A money outflow of $10 billion was realized from Aave, which stands out among the credit protocols.
David Shuttleworth, from Anchorage Digital’s protocol team, noted that the events caused a serious risk-return imbalance in the DeFi ecosystem. Shuttleworth said users will not be as willing to place deposits on platforms unless the returns offered cover the risks.
It was stated that due to the recent increasing wave of abuse in DeFi protocols, users will not settle for much lower returns compared to previous periods.
