Bitcoin briefly slid on Sunday before rebounding sharply above $82,000 after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s counterproposal for a peace agreement, raising concerns that tensions in the Middle East could continue escalating.
“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after reviewing Iran’s proposal to end the conflict. Iran had reportedly asked the US to provide war reparations and release frozen Iranian financial assets.
Following Trump’s remarks, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped from $81,430 to $80,520 within 45 minutes before reversing course and climbing nearly 2.3% to $82,347 in under three hours, according to CoinGecko data. The rally also triggered a wave of liquidations, wiping out nearly $64 million in short positions over the past four hours, based on data from Coinglass.
The ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, along with tensions surrounding control of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments — has continued to rattle financial markets over the past ten weeks. Oil prices surged another 4.6% following Donald Trump’s latest remarks, with crude climbing to $98.7 per barrel.
Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures edged up 0.13% after markets opened roughly two hours after Trump’s Truth Social post.
Trump’s rejection of Iran’s counterproposal has weakened expectations for a near-term resolution to the conflict by Wednesday. Benjamin Netanyahu also stated that the war would not end until Iran’s uranium facilities are dismantled.
Bitcoin may gain additional support this week as US lawmakers weigh two major developments that could boost regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, according to 10x Research CEO Markus Thielen.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Thielen said Bitcoin’s resilience around the $80,000 level could be reinforced by two key events in the Senate. The first is Monday’s vote on Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as Federal Reserve chair, followed by Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee review of the CLARITY Act.
Although Warsh is considered more hawkish on inflation than current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Thielen said his appointment could help eliminate lingering market uncertainty.
He also described the CLARITY Act as the most important crypto-related legislation introduced in years, suggesting it may mark a major step toward clearer regulation for digital assets.
“Both events lean bullish for Bitcoin: regulatory clarity reduces institutional friction, and a smooth Fed leadership transition avoids the policy uncertainty that typically pressures risk assets.”
Despite ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, Bitcoin has climbed 29.7% since the conflict began on Feb. 28, the day a US airstrike reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Bitcoin has outperformed both the S&P 500 and gold during the conflict, recovering part of the losses it suffered after reaching an all-time high of $126,080 in October.
