Bitcoin Slips Despite Improving Global Sentiment as Wallet Security Fears Weigh on Market
Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market opened the week under pressure, shrugging off favorable macroeconomic developments as concerns surrounding a major hardware wallet exploit continued to dominate sentiment.
Bitcoin (BTC) retreated to around $62,800 on Monday after reaching nearly $63,600 a day earlier. The world's largest cryptocurrency was down roughly 1% over the past 24 hours and has lost around 4% over the past week.
Ethereum (ETH) also extended recent losses, slipping more than 1% to about $1,858. The second-largest cryptocurrency has struggled to regain the $1,900 level since last week and is down approximately 5% over the last seven days.
Other leading digital assets followed a similar pattern. XRP traded near $1.07 after a modest decline, while Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) each posted small losses. BNB stood out as one of the few large-cap cryptocurrencies holding steady, remaining slightly positive over the past week. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid's HYPE token continued to underperform, falling another 1% and recording the steepest weekly decline among the top-ranked cryptocurrencies.
The weakness in crypto came despite a significant improvement in global market sentiment.
Oil prices dropped sharply after reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had decided against military action involving Iran and instead planned to restart diplomatic negotiations. The prospect of renewed talks, backed by regional allies including Saudi Arabia, raised hopes that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could return to normal, easing concerns over global energy supplies.
Brent crude futures fell more than 7%, helping reduce inflation expectations across financial markets.
Lower oil prices also fueled a rally in U.S. Treasury bonds, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield down after reaching its highest level since early 2025 last week. Equity futures responded positively as well, with Nasdaq 100 futures and European stock futures both moving higher. Gold also added modest gains.
Ordinarily, this combination of declining oil prices, lower bond yields, and stronger equity markets would provide a supportive backdrop for cryptocurrencies. Instead, digital assets largely ignored the positive macro environment.
The main source of pressure remains the ongoing security incident involving Coldcard-generated Bitcoin wallets.
Over the weekend, researchers identified a third wave of unauthorized wallet sweeps targeting addresses linked to the hardware wallet setup. The latest attacks pushed total observed losses to approximately 1,367 BTC, valued at nearly $89 million, spread across more than 4,500 affected addresses.
Data from the incident shows a changing pattern. Earlier attacks focused on wallets with larger balances, while more recent activity has shifted toward draining smaller accounts. The first wave removed more than 1,000 BTC from just over 1,100 wallets, whereas the latest wave targeted a much larger number of addresses but recovered significantly smaller amounts per wallet.
The evolving behavior suggests the attacker may have already exhausted many of the higher-value targets and is now moving through remaining wallets containing more modest balances.
The security concerns appear to be outweighing broader economic tailwinds, leaving investors cautious despite improving conditions elsewhere in financial markets.
Institutional fund flows also painted a mixed picture heading into the new week. Ether-focused investment products recorded modest inflows, while Bitcoin funds experienced net outflows, an unusual divergence given that Bitcoin typically leads market direction with Ethereum following closely behind.
Market participants are now watching Bitcoin's ability to defend the $62,000 support level as diplomatic discussions involving Iran begin. If negotiations lead to additional declines in oil prices, macro conditions could become even more favorable for risk assets.
However, if cryptocurrencies continue to struggle despite improving economic conditions, traders may conclude that the market's biggest obstacle remains internal, with security concerns overshadowing the broader investment landscape.