Bitcoin edged lower late in the morning on the US East Coast after US President Donald Trump’s comments signaled a halt to planned diplomatic travel linked to Iran negotiations.
The biggest cryptocurrency fell about $100 to $77,351 just before noon ET, reversing a modest earlier gain. The move came minutes after a Fox reporter posted Trump’s remarks on X, saying he had canceled a trip by envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s stepson, Jared Kushner.
“I told my people a while ago that they were getting ready to go, and I said, ‘No, you’re not going to make an 18-hour flight to go there. We’ve got all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to make more 18-hour flights to sit and talk about nothing,'” Trump said, according to the post.
Witkoff and Kushner were expected to travel to Pakistan for a new round of talks involving Iran. The shift came just hours after Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, left Pakistan, a detail that had disappointed expectations of near-term talks.
However, the decline in BTC was limited, suggesting that markets saw the development as a near-term risk signal rather than a shift in the broader outlook.
Market participants will likely watch for follow-up statements from US officials and any response from Iran. Trump is expected to speak at a crypto conference in Palm Beach around noon Eastern time.
