Crypto prices rose on Monday after US President Donald Trump said the nation would delay strikes against Iran’s power plants for five days, easing concerns that the conflict would escalate.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that the two countries had “very good and productive conversations about a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”
The five-day pause will not end the war, however, as Iran continues to attack targets across the Gulf and Israel is set to sign on as well.
Bitcoin bounced back nearly 5% above $71,000 in the early morning hours in the US after dipping below $68,000 overnight. Ether (ETH), solana (SOL and Chainlink up 5% over the past 24 hours as cryptocurrencies jumped across the board.
Gold erased nearly all of its earlier losses, now down just 1% on the day and returning to $4,440 a barrel. ounces. The US dollar index, DXY, has fallen to 99.3.
Bond yields have fallen globally, with the US 10-year yield down 100 basis points to 4.3%.
Meanwhile, WTI crude is down 11% on the day, trading below $88 a barrel. barrel, while Brent crude has fallen 8% to around $100 a barrel. barrel. Tokenized Brent crude futures saw $62.4 million in liquidations on Hyperliquid.
CoinGlass data shows $62.41 million in liquidations on the XYZ:BRENTOIL contract over the past 24 hours, with $61.69 million of that hitting longs and only $717,000 from shorts.
Galaxy Digital ( GLXY ) rose 2% in premarket trade, while Coinbase ( COIN ) and IREN ( IREN ) also added about 2% each. Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate owner of bitcoin, rose more than 3%.
Despite the knee-jerk risk-on reaction in markets and the drop in oil prices, options linked to bitcoin continue to reflect a defensive bias.
At the time of writing, put options on Deribit continued to trade at an 8-10 volatility point premium to calls through June expiration, largely unchanged from earlier in the day, according to data source Amberdata. The same goes for ether options.
This suggests traders remain cautious, viewing the latest bounce with skepticism and bracing for potential aftershocks from the latest oil rally on broader markets and the global economy.
CORRECT (March 23, 11:30 UTC): Corrects first paragraph to say attack will be delayed. An earlier version of this story said they would be escalated.
UPDATE (March 23, 11:40 UTC): Adds crude prices, options.
