Risk appetite returns: crypto follows the tech market
After the Iran scare, investors are taking on risk again. Bitcoin reclaimed 66,400 dollars (+0.8%) and ethereum gained 1.7%, in step with a recovering Nasdaq. ETF inflows for the second week running. Yet bitcoin is still more than 48% below its record high.
The crypto market started the week with a sigh of relief. As investors digest the news around the US and Iran and their risk appetite returns, prices bounced back. Bitcoin reclaimed 66,400 dollars (roughly €58,100), a gain of 0.8%, while ethereum rose 1.7% to around 1,936 dollars (roughly €1,694). Notably, crypto moved almost in lockstep with the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100.
In step with the tech market
The rebound coincided with a recovery in equities, and that says a lot. Crypto is currently behaving like a classic risk-on asset: when risky stocks do well, crypto benefits alongside them, and vice versa. That same correlation explained last week's drop; now it is working in the market's favour.
ETF inflows, second week running
There is more good news: US bitcoin ETFs posted net inflows for the second week in a row, a reversal after a string of outflow weeks. That suggests institutional investors, after weeks of caution, are cautiously stepping back in — a support under the price.
Still far below the top
A quick reality check amid the optimism. At 66,400 dollars, bitcoin is still more than 48% below its record high of 128,198 dollars (roughly €112,200) from October 2025. Ethereum is doing relatively worse: at 1,936 dollars it sits around 61% below its all-time high of 4,953 dollars from August 2025. So the rebound is real, but it is a recovery within a much deeper valley.
What does it mean for Europe?
Because crypto moves with the US tech market, European investors are watching Wall Street too: the upcoming second-quarter earnings and the course of the Iran conflict will help set the mood. Strong results and easing tension could feed the rebound; disappointments could reverse it just as fast.
Caveat: the calm is fragile
One strong day does not make a trend. As long as crypto is so tightly bound to the stock-market climate and geopolitics, volatility stays high. Analysts warn the swings will persist while the market processes both the Iran news and earnings season at once. So don't build your strategy on a single green day.
Sources: Yahoo Finance. Last checked: 21 July 2026.