Bitcoin and Ethereum have been on the move as assets in recent weeks caught between two powerful forces. On the one hand, institutional demand has returned through Spot ETFs, treasury purchasesand dip purchases from larger investors. On the other hand, profit-taking and heavy derivative positioning continue to operate into sudden withdrawals.
Demand for ETFs is slowly rising for Bitcoin and Ethereum
The crypto market has not been moving in a pure straight line. Bitcoin has come close to the $80,000 level more than once in the past week, but then lost momentum around $79,000. Ethereum has followed these moves, but with its own ETF flow and positioning pressure.
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The strongest reason why Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen is the return of institutional inflow. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw strong inflows in April, with data indicating this more than $2.2 billion in net inflows between April 14 and 24. Spot Bitcoin ETFs raked in $823.7 million between April 20 and 24, while Ethereum ETFs raked in about $155 million in the same week.
That helps explain why Bitcoin was able to rebound strongly from its mid-$60,000 range from earlier March, moving back from nearly $78,000 to $80,000. Bitcoin recently neared $80,000 and reached around $79,475 over the weekend before pulling back, showing that sellers are still active.
A war that Crypto cannot ignore
The biggest driver of crypto volatility in 2026 was a conflict thousands of miles away from any blockchain. The US-Iran conflict has been the biggest factor in how the cryptocurrency market has come under increasing pressure.
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The sudden onset of military conflict in February caused an immediate and severe shock that pushed cryptocurrencies to all-time lows. Earlier in April, however, Bitcoin jumped to an 11-week high in light of easing tensions between the US and Iran and talks about reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
As it stands, US President Donald Trump’s national security team is reviewing an Iranian peace plan to stop the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has offered to end the stranglehold on the strait if the US lifts the blockade and sanctions on the country.
Bitcoin and Ethereum price movements have largely followed these ups and downs and concerns about rising oil prices. An ongoing US naval blockade However, and Iran continuing to seize ships indicates that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is still a long way off.
The third force behind the sharp swings is leverage, as crypto markets are heavily influenced by derivatives. For example, the recent Bitcoin rally to $79,000 caught many traders off guard, with over $200 million value of short positions were liquidated. Buying pressure on the Bitcoin derivatives side has yet to ease as on-chain data shows BTC net taker volume recently rose to approximately $145 million.
Ethereum has also seen aggressive derivatives activity. Recent data shows that open interest on ETH futures rose 26% to approximately $25.4 billion. Ethereum buyers are also present most aggressive shopping spree phase since the beginning of 2023.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com