Bitcoin rose back above $68,000 on March 31 after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was prepared to end its war with the United States, and markets began to bet on a resolution.
Data from CryptoSlate showed the broader crypto market added about $40 billion in value after the remarks. Bitcoin climbed nearly 2% to retake the $68,000 level, while Ethereum rose 3% to around $2,100.
The rebound marked a sharp reversal for digital assets, which had spent much of the past week under pressure as the conflict in the Middle East pushed investors toward oil, the dollar, and other traditional defensive trades.
The terms sought by Tehran were not immediately clear, leaving markets to react first to the possibility of de-escalation rather than to any concrete diplomatic framework.
Still, that uncertainty did little to slow the initial move across asset classes.
Iran war de-escalation lifts market
The Kobeissi Letter suggested that oil prices had fallen sharply by 5% in about three minutes today, because of unconfirmed comments from Pezeshkian. The post implies that algorithmic trading systems quickly seized on the headline. It said more than $1 trillion in market value moved across global markets within minutes as investors repriced the likelihood of a prolonged conflict.
Reports also surfaced yesterday of the PM making similar comments.
Today, US stocks also rallied rapidly at the same time, while the dollar fell by almost 1% on the DXY Dollar Index. The S&P 500 gained 2.5% on the day, adding about $1.4 trillion in market capitalization, as traders moved back into risk assets that had been battered by the surge in energy prices and fears of a wider regional disruption.
A WSJ article today follows directionally with Kobeissi’s narrative, stating that President Trump is also keen on ending the war soon.
The reaction reflected how heavily the war had begun to weigh on financial markets before Tehran’s latest remarks. Notably, oil prices have consistently traded above the $100 mark this month, with Brent crude on course for its biggest monthly gain on record, up 54% since the start of March.
That oil shock has become the central macro channel linking the conflict to crypto. Bitcoin and other digital assets have increasingly traded like broader risk-sensitive instruments during periods of rising yields, tighter financial conditions, and inflation anxiety.
As crude surged, investors worried that a longer disruption in Middle East energy flows would keep price pressures elevated, weaken growth, and reduce the room for central banks to ease policy.
Meanwhile, the economic stakes stretch well beyond financial markets.
The International Monetary Fund recently warned that a prolonged conflict that continues to choke flows through the Gulf would lead to higher prices and slower growth worldwide.
That view has shaped investor behavior across asset classes, with traders watching not just the battlefield but also the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints.
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