Iran | Crypto

The announced crypto freeze came just one day after Tether said it had frozen $344 million of its USDt stablecoin in response to a request from US law enforcement. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned several wallets tied to Iran, resulting in authorities freezing $344 million in cryptocurrency. In a Friday X post, Bessent said that the move by OFAC was part of the US’ efforts to “systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.” The US and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran in late February. “We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” said Bessent. Read more

Crypto markets weaken amid rising Japan inflation, Iran war oil disruptions, and expectations of a hawkish Bank of Japan.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gave back their early morning gains alongside BTC as markets digested the Fed Chair nominee's Senate confirmation hearing and report of stalled Iran talks.

Bitcoin traded at $74,335 after Iran reimposed controls on the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, with the modest 1.6% pullback standing out against a 5.7% jump in Brent and a 1.2% drop in European equity futures.

The Iranian government chose Bitcoin as a payment method for oil tolls due to its confiscation-resistant properties, but only dollar stablecoins have been used so far. Iran’s government naming Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method for oil ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz highlights its role as a neutral, strategic asset, according to Sam Lyman, head of research at digital asset advocacy organization Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI).  The government selected BTC as one of the payment methods for the tolls because of its censorship-resistant qualities, Lyman told Cointelegraph. He said:  Iran is accepting oil tolls in Chinese yuan, US dollar-pegged stablecoins and BTC. However, there is “no onchain evidence” of a BTC toll payment so far, Lyman said, adding that the “majority” of Iran’s crypto transactions are denominated in US dollar stablecoins. Read more

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their largest single-day capital inflow since January on April 17, as the reopening of a critical Middle Eastern shipping route sparked a broader market rotation into risk assets. According to SoSoValue data, the 12 products drew approximately $664 million in fresh capital on April 17. The surge was […] The post US Bitcoin ETFs pull in $664M in largest daily inflow since January, because Iran reopened Hormuz for a few hours appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin price briefly cracked $78,000 yesterday, a level untouched since early February, before pulling back and stabilizing. What's next The post Bitcoin Price Prediction: Hormuz, Iran War, Oil Price, Metals, and Stocks vs Crypto appeared first on Cryptonews.

One of the biggest short liquidations 2026 wiped $593 million in bearish bets overnight. Saturday afternoon as Iran reportedly reversed the Hormuz reopening.

Bitcoin rallied hard after Iran said it was reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. Bitcoin hit the highest level since February, oil prices dropped, Wall Street notched another record, and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.24%. But here’s the catch: markets acted as if the reopening had solved the core standoff […] The post All eyes on Bitcoin this weekend as Iran is already disputing the US narrative on the Hormuz deal appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A letter from US Senator Richard Blumenthal said he was concerned about “mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money laundering prevention by Binance.” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal questioned US authorities responsible for overseeing Binance about whether the company is complying with anti-money laundering laws and sanctions under its 2023 court-imposed monitoring program. According to a report published by Fortune on Friday, Blumenthal sent letters to the Justice Department and the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), asking for details on Binance’s compliance.  Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reached a deal in 2023, in which the exchange would pay $4.3 billion to settle civil regulatory enforcement actions, and CZ would plead guilty to one felony charge. Read more

Bitcoin surged above $77,000 as oil futures fell 10% after Iran’s foreign minister declared the Strait of Hormuz open for the remainder of the ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran. Update (4.17.26 6:43 PM UTC): This article has been updated to reflect updated BTC prices and rally data. Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial vessel traffic for the remainder of the current ceasefire, prompting quick market reactions. “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a Friday X post. Read more

Bitcoin paused its rally toward new range highs while the S&P 500 came within an inch of a fresh year-to-date high, leading analysts to warn that traders are overconfident. Bitcoin (BTC) circled $74,000 at Wednesday’s Wall Street open as US stocks edged higher on news that the US and Iran may be open to another round of ceasefire negotiations. Key points: Bitcoin consolidates as analysts warn that stocks may be too optimistic over geopolitical relief. Read more

Bitcoin's 12% gain since the Iran war began isn't a risk-on trade. It's the market repricing bitcoin's role as a neutral settlement layer, Bitwise's CIO argues.

Iran conflict is already disrupting the hidden plumbing of global trade The market spent the first phase of the Iran conflict watching crude. That was the visible layer. Today, prices have fallen below $90 a barrel for the first time in a while and Bitcoin is soaring alongside. However, a consequential shift is still happening […] The post Oil prices fall but China trade and US inflation data weakens as Iran contagion spreads – in opportunity for Bitcoin appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A broad hope for a US deal with Iran to end weeks of conflict has spurred investor confidence in riskier assets. Bitcoin has surged to its highest price in nearly a month, triggering hundreds of millions worth of liquidations as hopes of a deal between the Trump administration and Iran washed the crypto market with positive sentiment. The crypto market surged to a total value of $2.6 trillion, its highest level for a month, liquidating 177,000 traders of $530 million over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass. The majority of liquidations occurred in the past 12 hours, and 80% of them, or $425 million, were leveraged short positions in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).  Read more

Bitcoin preserved $70,000 at the weekly close as markets began reacting to a breakdown in US-Iran negotiations and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin (BTC) held $70,000 at the weekly close as markets reacted to a breakdown in US-Iran negotiations and escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. A breakdown in US-Iran negotiations sends oil surging above $100 per barrel, with the Strait of Hormuz now blockaded. US PPI inflation data is due amid signs that the oil crisis is far from the only driver of price increases. Read more

Fallout from the Iran war will likely weigh on markets for much of 2026, dashing hopes of rate cuts until Q3 by the earliest, the Coin Bureau's Nic Puckrin said. Now almost a week old, the Bitcoin (BTC) recovery is “fragile” as the crypto market faces geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds from the ongoing war in the Middle East, according to Nic Puckrin, a crypto market analyst and founder of the Coin Bureau media outlet. “Even if the war ends now, its repercussions will likely be the story of 2026, and certainly the dominant narrative for Q2. I don’t expect to see a rate cut until late Q3 or Q4, if at all,” Puckrin told Cointelegraph. He said that he sees:  If Bitcoin closes the week above $71,000, it could signal continued upside for BTC, with resistance forming around the $74,000 level, he said. At last look, it was trading at about $71,276, according to TradingView data. Read more

The US-Iran ceasefire made oil retreat, European equities posted their largest single-day gain in more than four years, and crypto joined the relief wave alongside everything else. During the relief, traders rotated sharply into privacy-adjacent names, pushing Zcash up roughly 59.6% over seven days and Dash up about 47.3% over the same window. CryptoSlate's privacy […] The post Zcash beats Bitcoin by 46% as privacy coins decouple during Iran War appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin kept part of the ceasefire bounce, but the chain still has not confirmed the move Bitcoin is still holding around $71,000 after the weekend’s ceasefire-driven risk bounce, even as the macro story behind that move has already started to fray. That leaves the market in an awkward middle ground. Price kept part of the […] The post Bitcoin sits on a knife edge but holds $71k as “no Iran deal” spooks market over the weekend appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Reuters reported that White House staff were warned against using confidential information after suspicious Iran-linked oil futures bets and fresh scrutiny of prediction markets. The White House warned staff against improperly using confidential information to place bets in futures markets after suspicious oil trades ahead of President Donald Trump’s March 23 Iran announcement drew scrutiny, according to Reuters. Reuters reported on Thursday that the White House sent the internal email on March 24, a day after Trump ordered a five-day delay in attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure. The warning followed a roughly $500 million bet on Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures placed in a one-minute burst shortly before Trump’s March 23 announcement, according to Reuters calculations based on exchange data. Oil prices fell about 15% after the policy shift. Read more