In a phone interview with CBS News, former President Trump stated that U.S. military actions have significantly weakened Iran's operational capabilities. He claimed, "From a military standpoint, they don't have much left." According to the U.S. Department of Defense, American forces struck over 3,000 Iranian targets in the first week of the war. The market interpreted this as a signal that the conflict might be easing, triggering a chain reaction in energy and digital asset markets.
Previously, affected by tensions in the Middle East, international crude oil prices had climbed to $118 per barrel, with market concerns that the Strait of Hormuz, a transit route for one-fifth of the world's oil supply, might be disrupted. However, after Trump's remarks, oil prices plummeted to around $85 within hours, reflecting investors reducing geopolitical risk premiums.
Despite signaling de-escalation, Trump subsequently issued a harsher warning on Truth Social: "If Iran does anything to impede oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will hit them 20 times harder than they've ever been hit before." He added, "Death, fire, and fury will descend upon them – but I hope and pray that doesn't happen." These comments injected further uncertainty into the market. On the same day, at a Republican fundraising event in Florida, Trump stated that while the U.S. had achieved several military objectives, it had "not won enough yet" and emphasized that it would continue to push forward firmly.
Against this backdrop, the crypto market did not panic but instead showed a mild upward trend. According to Blockchain.com data, the total market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market rose by approximately 3% in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin returned above $70,000, while Ethereum remained stable above $2,000. Etherscan data shows that Ethereum network transaction activity remained stable, indicating that on-chain demand was not significantly affected by external sentiment fluctuations.
Industry analysts point out that although crypto assets are often regarded as safe-haven instruments, their current price movements are still highly dependent on global macro risk sentiment. When geopolitical conflict expectations cool down and energy prices fall, risk appetite rebounds, driving a mild rebound in digital assets. This linkage mechanism once again highlights the increasingly close connection between the crypto market and the traditional financial system.
