Cryptocurrency rallies while oil plummets following Trump's contradictory Iran conflict statements
Conflicting statements from Trump regarding Iran conflict triggered a 28% oil price decline and 3% cryptocurrency surge, with Bitcoin surging past $70,000 threshold.
Cryptocurrency markets experienced moderate gains while oil markets tumbled on Monday following US President Donald Trump's remarks to the press suggesting the Iran conflict might be nearing its conclusion — though he subsequently intensified his war-related messaging on social media platforms.
During a telephone conversation with CBS News on Monday, Trump conveyed the impression that military operations in Iran were reaching their final stages. US military officials assert they have conducted strikes against over 3,000 Iranian locations during the initial week of combat operations.
"I think the war is very complete, pretty much," Donald Trump told CBS News. "If you look, they have nothing left. There's nothing left in a military sense," he added.
These statements triggered oil prices to plummet 28% from Monday's four-year peak of $118 down to approximately $85 during the subsequent hours, as reported by OilPrice.
Nevertheless, in his most recent Truth Social posting on Tuesday, Trump escalated his war-related rhetoric once more, declaring that "If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far."
"Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again," the President added.
"Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!"
Trump's remarks during a Republican congressional fundraising gathering in Florida on Monday similarly suggested that the military conflict might continue further.
"We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough," Trump said. "We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all."
Crypto will follow other risk assets
Cryptocurrency markets have risen 3.1% during the previous 24 hours, with Bitcoin (BTC) climbing back above $70,000, and Ether (ETH) is maintaining a position slightly above $2,000 at the time of writing.
Augustine Fan, partner and head of insights at crypto trading software service provider SignalPlus, told Cointelegraph that it is generally "hard to take these headline comments at face value, especially with other members of his [Trump's] cabinet stating that things are still in the beginning phase, and US military assets still deployed in the region."
"Crypto prices will continue to follow other risk assets without a fundamental narrative of its own in the near term, and macro leadership will still be driven by oil, which has seen a +$30 turnaround over the span of just 24 hours."
"We don't expect the conflict to be resolved any time soon," he said, adding that "we would expect tradable bounces and BTC to do relatively better as a potential store of value during these times."
Potential for prolonged uncertainty persists
In the meantime, Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue, told Cointelegraph that should Trump's assertion that the Iran conflict is approaching its end turn out to be correct, "I'm expecting a strong relief rally in crypto, driven by plunging oil prices, eased inflation/geopolitical fears, and renewed risk appetite."
Nevertheless, "doubts persist amid mixed signals from Iran and potential for prolonged uncertainty," he added.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard reportedly responded to Trump by saying that his comments were "nonsense" and "we are the ones that will determine the end of the war."