On Thursday, Bitcoin was valued at $70,981, reflecting a slight decline of 0.5% over the past day but still showing an increase of 6.1% for the week. This comes as the recently announced two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran begins to show signs of strain less than two days after its declaration.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, indicated that three specific clauses from the ceasefire agreement had been violated; however, he did not elaborate on which ones were affected. Meanwhile, Israeli military actions continued in Lebanon.
The Strait of Hormuz—a vital maritime route that was expected to be central to this agreement—remains largely closed with very few tankers navigating through it despite Iran’s commitment to facilitate “coordinated” passage.
Brent crude oil prices experienced a rebound of 2%, reaching approximately $97 following a significant drop exceeding 10% on Wednesday—the steepest single-day fall in six years. This recovery illustrates how swiftly market sentiment has shifted from optimism regarding peace towards apprehension about whether the ceasefire will endure through the weekend or last for its intended duration.
Ether saw a decrease of 2.6%, settling at $2,180 after initially leading gains during the ceasefire announcement with a weekly rise of 5.2%. Other cryptocurrencies also faced declines: Solana’s SOL fell by 3.1% to $81.96; XRP dropped by 3% to $1.33; and dogecoin decreased by 3.4%, landing at $0.091 while BNB remained relatively stable at $600 but down by 2.2%.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined by 0.9%, with twice as many stocks falling compared to those rising following Wednesday’s surge driven by ceasefire optimism—the largest increase seen in a year prior to this downturn.
S&P500 and European futures suggested an impending decline of around 0.2%, indicating that global equities’ four-day winning streak might be coming to an end while Treasuries remained steady after reversing earlier gains due to concerns that rising oil prices could contribute further inflationary pressures.
In addition, The Federal Reserve continues emphasizing potential inflation risks alongside weakening labor conditions which supports their narrative for maintaining higher interest rates longer than previously anticipated.
Wage growth in Japan has reached levels not seen in decades reinforcing expectations for additional rate hikes ahead.
This situation creates what one analyst termed “uncoordinated tightening” across major economies compounded with geopolitical uncertainties making it difficult for any stable framework regarding rate expectations.
For Bitcoin specifically, moving from around $67K up towards nearly $72K during this ceasefire period—and managing above$70K despite fluctuations on Thursday—represents notably positive price movement since hostilities began six weeks ago.
The established range between$65K-$73K remains intact since late February; however now Bitcoin is testing higher levels rather than merely hovering near lower bounds