Crypto prices stall after strong week as U.S. announces Iran sanctions push

Cryptocurrency prices halted their momentum after a strong week of gains coinciding with a major geopolitical announcement from Washington. XRP rose 49.5% over the past seven days to trade near $1.48 but remained nearly flat in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin climbed 23.4% weekly to $78,738, while Ethereum gained 29.8% to $2,468. Solana and Hyperliquid posted weekly increases of 26.6% and roughly 13% respectively.

The market appears to be consolidating following these gains rather than extending its advance. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled Operation Economic Outcast, a coordinated economic offensive against Iran's financial networks. He described the initiative as aiming to cut off every avenue available to Tehran, mapping every node the Iranian regime uses to circumvent sanctions, including networks for oil smuggling and international money transfers. The Treasury framed the approach as "zero leakage," designed to block all remaining revenue streams connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Geopolitical announcements involving Iran sanctions have historically triggered volatility across both traditional and cryptocurrency markets throughout the year, often prompting short-term risk-off moves even when financial markets are not directly targeted.