On Tuesday evening, Bitcoin and U.S. stock futures experienced a significant increase, while oil prices plummeted after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States through his platform, Truth Social.
The leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC), reached an impressive peak of $72,699, marking a 5% rise within 24 hours according to data from CoinDesk. The overall market mirrored this trend as the CoinDesk 20 Index surged by 5%, reaching 2,034 points. Futures associated with the S&P 500 saw an increase of 1.9%, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped by 2.2%. Dow Jones futures also rose approximately by 1.8%.
In contrast, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices fell sharply by over 10%, dropping to $95 per barrel alongside similar declines in Brent crude.
This surge in risk appetite followed Trump’s announcement regarding a two-week halt on planned extensive bombing operations against Iran.
“I have agreed to pause all bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks,” Trump stated in his Truth Social post late Tuesday evening before his deadline at 8 p.m. ET.
“This will be a mutually beneficial CEASEFIRE! The rationale behind this decision is that we have already achieved all military objectives and are making significant progress towards establishing long-term PEACE with Iran and stability in the Middle East.”
Iran acknowledged the ceasefire declaration as well; they indicated that if hostilities against them ceased, their formidable armed forces would also halt defensive actions. They mentioned that oil tankers could safely navigate through the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks with proper coordination from Iranian military forces while considering technical constraints.
“Iran has confirmed a two-week ceasefire; however, reopening access to the Strait of Hormuz remains somewhat unclear due to ‘technical limitations’ and requires ‘coordination’ with Iranian military forces,” noted Javier Bias from Bloomberg’s opinion column focused on energy and commodities via X platform. “Nonetheless, it allows for renewed flow of oil and LNG.”
For more than a month now, uncertainty surrounding potential conflict involving Iran has placed pressure on risk assets. Although Bitcoin’s trading was volatile during this period—its upward movement was consistently hindered due to rising oil prices coupled with inflation concerns—traders began positioning themselves bearishly within futures markets as they anticipated further declines.
The recent price rally resulted in exchanges liquidating nearly $600 million worth of leveraged crypto futures positions; out of this total amount over $400 million originated from bearish short positions being closed out.
This indicates robust bullish momentum along with pressure exerted on short-sellers which reinforces upward price movements as traders rush to mitigate their losses amid changing market conditions.