Bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbed 4% on Monday, approaching the $70,000 mark, driven by a global market upswing fueled by growing expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East. Over the weekend, market anticipation for a negotiated agreement intensified after former President Trump reiterated threats regarding the reopening of the critical oil shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz. Reports from Axios indicated that US and Iranian mediators are negotiating terms for a provisional 45-day ceasefire agreement. This development spurred broad gains across the crypto market, with Ethereum (ETH-USD) and Solana (SOL-USD) also rising over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin's trading range has largely been confined between $65,000 and $73,000 over the past five weeks. Desislava Yanewa, an analyst at Nexo Dispatch, commented, "A ceasefire agreement is the most likely catalyst to break this consolidation pattern." The analyst highlighted stable institutional positioning, noting that spot Bitcoin ETFs and digital asset management firms now hold approximately 12% of the total Bitcoin supply, up from 8.7% a year ago. On Monday, MicroStrategy (MSTR) disclosed it had purchased an additional $330 million worth of Bitcoin between April 1st and April 5th, reinforcing its status as the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. In March, Bitcoin outperformed both the S&P 500 and gold, breaking a five-month losing streak against the backdrop of Middle East conflicts. Last week, Compass Point analyst Ed Engel stated in a research report that while a Bitcoin rebound seemed overdue, "on-chain data still shows bearish outflows, giving us greater confidence that Bitcoin will retest the $60,000 lows." Sean Farrell, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Fundstrat, expressed a similar cautious outlook. Farrell mentioned in a recent client video, "I remain cautious for now. I believe the current phase is still suitable for preserving capital, staying nimble, and waiting for a clearer directional shift in the market." Conversely, analysts at Bernstein recently suggested that Bitcoin is showing signs of having bottomed out. The firm reaffirmed its year-end 2026 price target for Bitcoin at $150,000.