Peace talks and price drops
Iran peace talks are moving toward a ceasefire that could pull oil back to the $70s, Bitcoin sits at $73,000 in Extreme Fear while long-term holders accumulate, and XRP's price lags its institutional momentum. Plus: Lantern adds RLUSD as a loan payout option.
By Lantern Finance
28 May 2026
Hey Lantern Community,
Iran peace talks are moving, Bitcoin is in Extreme Fear, and long-term holders are accumulating.
But first, market update!
The Iran deal: close, but not confirmed
On May 23, Trump announced a peace deal with Iran is “largely negotiated,” with the Strait of Hormuz’s reopening as a core term.
The proposed terms: a 60-day ceasefire extension, Iran removing mines from the Strait, oil sales permitted freely during the window, and both sides entering nuclear enrichment talks. If it goes through, analysts estimate oil pulls back from ~$100/barrel toward the $70s.
Iran’s state media called Trump’s announcement “incomplete and inconsistent with reality.” Talks are continuing through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries.
The deal isn’t done until it’s signed.
Bitcoin is at $73,000, and long-term holders are buying
The Fear & Greed index is at Extreme Fear.
Spot ETF outflows hit $1.26 billion for the week ending May 22, the largest weekly outflow since December 2025.
But surprisingly, whales are accumulating.
Wallets that haven’t moved coins in 155+ days just hit 16.3 million BTC, close to an all-time high. They’ve added more than 2 million BTC since October. Meanwhile, exchange reserves are declining.
That’s the same structure that showed up before prior recoveries.
XRP is down, but the institutional news didn’t slow down
XRP is about 42% below where it was a year ago.
The price hasn’t kept up with the fundamentals. This year alone: Deutsche Bank integrated Ripple for cross-border FX settlement, Société Générale launched its euro stablecoin on XRPL, BNY Mellon became RLUSD custodian, and over 300 banks have onboarded to the XRP ecosystem.
BTC and ETH ETFs saw heavy outflows last week. XRP ETFs pulled in $22 million in net inflows.
Despite bullish fundamentals, Standard Chartered revised its 2026 year-end target down from $8.00 to $2.80, citing challenging price action.
But that’s still more than 2x today’s price.
Lantern update: RLUSD is here
One of the most requested features from the XRP community is here.
We’re adding RLUSD as a loan payout option alongside USDC. Same rates, same process. You’ll just pick your stablecoin at the payout step.
RLUSD will be available on both the Ethereum network and XRPL. Paying interest or principal in RLUSD isn’t supported yet, but that’s coming later this year.
Receive your loan payout in RLUSD here: https://lantern.finance/dashboard/loans
Until next time,
The Lantern Team
This newsletter is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always consult with your financial advisor before making lending decisions.
