Bitcoin futures and U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday evening while oil prices collapsed after President Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States via Truth Social.
BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, hit 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 contracts linked to the S&P 500 climbed 1.9%, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.2%. Dow Jones futures jumped about 1.8%.
Meanwhile, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude collapsed more than 10% to $95, alongside a similar decline in Brent oil.
The risky action follows a two-week suspension of a planned widespread bombing campaign against Iran.
“I agree to suspend the bombing and attacks on Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote in a message published Tuesday evening in Truth Social, just before his 8 p.m. ET deadline.
“This will be a two-sided ceasefire! The reason is that we have already achieved and exceeded all military objectives and we are very far from a final agreement regarding long-term PEACE with Iran and PEACE in the Middle East.”
Iran confirmed the ceasefire, saying that “if attacks on Iran stop, our powerful armed forces will cease defensive operations.” He added that the tankers could safely transit the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks via coordination with the Iranian 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 confusing, with a warning about ‘technical limitations’ and the need for ‘coordination’ with the Iranian military. It nevertheless reopens the flow of oil and LNG,” Javier Bias, Bloomberg opinion columnist covering energy and commodities, said on X.
For more than a month, uncertainty over the war in Iran has kept risky assets under pressure. While bitcoin has generally traded choppyly, its upside potential has been consistently limited by the resulting oil rally and inflation fears, while prompting traders to seek bearish positioning in the futures market.
The latest price rally saw exchanges liquidate nearly $600 million in leveraged crypto futures positions. Of that amount, more than $400 million came from bearish short bets.
This implies strong bullish momentum and pressure against short sellers, adding to upward pressure on prices as traders scramble to cover their losing positions.
