Bitcoin and U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday night as oil prices collapsed after President Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. via Truth Social.
BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, rose to a high of $72,699, up 5% in 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. The broader market followed suit with the CoinDesk 20 index jumping 5% to 2,034 points. Futures linked to the S&P 500 rose 1.9%, while futures linked to the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.2%. Dow Jones futures jumped about 1.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the price collapsed per barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil by more than 10% to $95, along with a similar drop in Brent crude.
The risk-on action followed a two-week suspension of a planned widespread bombing campaign against Iran.
“I agree to suspend the bombing and attack on Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday evening, just before his deadline at 10 p.m. 8 p.m.
“This will be a two-sided ceasefire! The reason for doing it is that we have already met and exceeded all military objectives and are very far along a final agreement on long-term PEACE with Iran and PEACE in the Middle East.”
Iran confirmed the ceasefire, saying that “if attacks against Iran cease, our powerful armed forces will cease their defensive operations.” It added that oil tankers could safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks via coordination with Iran’s armed forces and due consideration of technical limitations.
“Iran also confirms a two-week ceasefire. But the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is somewhat muddled, with a warning of “technical limitations” and the need for “coordination” with the Iranian military. Still, it reopens the flow of oil and LNG,” said Javier Bias, Bloomberg’s opinion columnist who covers energy and the paper.
For over a month, uncertainty linked to the Iran war kept risk assets under pressure. While bitcoin traded mostly flat, its upside was persistently limited by the resulting oil rally and inflation fears, while prompting traders to seek bearish positioning in the futures market.
The recent rally in prices has seen exchanges liquidate nearly $600 million in leveraged crypto futures positions. Of this amount, over $400 million came from bearish short bets.
This implies strong bullish momentum and pressure against short sellers, adding upward pressure on the price as traders try to cover their losing positions.
