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Bitcoin shoots above $72,000 as optimism grows over Middle East ceasefire
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly has signaled a willingness to negotiate with Lebanon.
Apr 9, 2026, 4:06 p.m.
What to know:
- Down earlier on Thursday as oil rose alongside growing questions about the supposed ceasefire in Iran, bitcoin reversed higher after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would pursue negotiations with Lebanon over disarming Hezbollah.
- Bitcoin’s gain continued a recent divergence from software stocks, with the cryptocurrency up about 9% over the past month while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF is down 12%.
Bitcoin is notably outperforming other crypto majors, with ether (ETH), solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) all higher by less than 1%.
Continued divergence with software stocks
Firmly linked at the hip in recent months, bitcoin and software stocks continued to diverge on Thursday. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) fell 4%, approaching a key support level around $76, a level it has tested and rebounded from multiple times.
