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Bitcoin surges past $72,000 as US-Iran ceasefire sends oil prices tumbling

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by Defused News Writer
Bitcoin surges past $72,000 as US-Iran ceasefire sends oil prices tumbling
Photo by Kanchanara / Unsplash

Bitcoin vaulted above $72,000 on Tuesday evening after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, triggering a broad rally in risk assets and a sharp collapse in oil prices.

The cryptocurrency climbed to a 24-hour high of almost $73,000, a gain of around 5%, as US stocks rose.

Oil markets moved in the opposite direction, with Brent crude falling more than 15% to around $92.39 a barrel as traders unwound bets on prolonged Middle East supply disruption.

Trump confirmed the agreement in a post to his Truth Social platform shortly before an 8pm ET deadline, saying military objectives had been met and that talks on a longer-term peace agreement were well advanced.

Iran subsequently confirmed the halt to hostilities, adding that oil tankers would be permitted to transit the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire period, though it noted the need for coordination with its armed forces and flagged unspecified technical limitations.

Energy analyst Javier Blas of Bloomberg described the Hormuz reopening as somewhat muddled given those caveats, but said it effectively restored the flow of oil and liquefied natural gas through the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz carries a significant share of global energy exports, and its effective blockade had been a persistent drag on risk sentiment for more than a month.

The speed and scale of the Bitcoin rally caught many traders off-guard, with nearly $600 million in leveraged cryptocurrency futures positions liquidated as prices surged, more than $400 million of which came from short sellers forced to cover losing positions.

Defused News Writer profile image
by Defused News Writer