Bitcoin approached $70,000 as reports of potential U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks boosted risk appetite, triggering over $270 million in short liquidations. The rally comes amid signs of possible de-escalation in the Iran conflict, though traders remain cautiously optimistic. Derivatives data show rising open interest and positive funding rates for bitcoin, ether, and several major altcoins. Algorand's ALGO token has emerged as a standout performer, jumping nearly 50% this month after a Google Quantum AI paper highlighted its use of the FALCON post-quantum signature scheme. ALGO rose from about $0.08 to near $0.12, bringing its market capitalization past $1 billion. The token is up more than 7.3% in the last 24 hours amid the wider market rally. Bitcoin's volatility has continued to decline, with the 30-day implied volatility index dropping below 50% for the first time since early February.