Bitcoin steadies after earlier slide as oil-driven risk-off fades; crypto still down on the day
Markets breathed a little easier Thursday after reports that Iran is drafting a coordination protocol with Oman to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a key artery for global oil shipments. The news helped reverse an early risk-off move: the Nasdaq largely erased an initial 2% drop, and WTI crude, which had spiked toward $115 per barrel following tense rhetoric, slid roughly $5 on the reports.
Cryptocurrencies partially recovered alongside equities but remained lower over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin traded in the mid-$66,000s (around $66,700–$67,100) and was down roughly 2–3% on the day. Ether sat near $2,060, also off about 3%. Crypto-focused equities such as Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) moved in step with the broader pullback.
Iranian officials described the move as coordination for safety rather than a bid to control passage. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said monitoring and coordination with coastal states like Iran and Oman is normal practice to “facilitate and ensure safe passage” and improve services for vessels transiting the strait.
The headlines followed sharp comments from U.S. President Trump, who on Wednesday said he would continue pressure on Iran and vowed to hit the country “extremely hard,” comments that briefly pushed oil and risk assets higher. As those escalation concerns eased, so did some of the pressure on markets — though crypto remained sensitive to the volatility, underscoring how geopolitical shocks can ripple across both traditional and digital asset markets.
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