Bitcoin briefly dipped before surging over $82,000 on Sunday as US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s counteroffer to a peace deal, which could prolong tension in the Middle East.
“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE, Trump said in a post to Truth Social on Sunday after reading Iran’s proposal to end the war. Iran has previously requested that the US pay for war reparations and unfreeze blocked Iranian financial assets.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell from $81,430 to $80,520 within 45 minutes of Trump’s post before whipsawing nearly 2.3% to $82,347 less than three hours later, according to CoinGecko data. Bitcoin’s rise also resulted in nearly $64 million worth of short positions being wiped out over the last four hours, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin’s change in price over the last 24 hours. Source: CoinGecko
The US-Iran war and dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz — which handles one-fifth of oil trade — has caused significant disruption in the financial markets over the past ten weeks, particularly in oil markets, which rose another 4.6% to $98.7 per barrel on Trump’s latest comments.
The S&P 500 futures index has risen 0.13% since the market opened about two hours after Trump’s post.
Trump’s refusal to accept Iran’s counteroffer dashes hopes of an imminent end to the war on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said the war won’t be over until Iran’s uranium sites are dismantled.
Bitcoin could see more regulatory momentum in US this week
Bitcoin’s strength at the $80,000 level could be supported by two favorable decisions in the US Senate this week, 10x Research CEO Markus Thielen told Cointelegraph.
“Two catalysts stand out this week,” a Senate vote on Monday for Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as Federal Reserve chair and the Senate Banking Committee’s markup on the CLARITY Act on Thursday, Thielen said.
Related: Bitcoin price may dip toward $70K as Fed estimates hotter inflation print
Thielen noted that while “Warsh is widely regarded as more hawkish on inflation” than the current Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, his confirmation would remove “uncertainty overhang.”
Thielen described the CLARITY Act as the “most significant piece of crypto legislation in years,” adding that it could be a “turning point for regulatory certainty across digital assets.”
“Both events lean bullish for Bitcoin: regulatory clarity reduces institutional friction, and a smooth Fed leadership transition avoids the policy uncertainty that typically pressures risk assets.”
Bitcoin up 29.7% since the US-Iran war began
Despite the US-Iran conflict, Bitcoin has now risen 29.7% since the US-Iran conflict started on Feb. 28, when a US airstrike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Bitcoin has outperformed the S&P 500 and gold since the US-Iran war started, clawing back some lost ground from October when Bitcoin hit a high of $126,080.
Magazine: Adam Back says current demand is ‘almost’ enough to send Bitcoin to $1M
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