Bitcoin, ether little changed as U.S. launches fresh Iran strikes

Bitcoin held near $63,800 on Saturday after the U.S. launched its third round of strikes on Iran this week and Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed “until further notice.” The largest cryptocurrency was down 0.3% over 24 hours and up 2% on the week.

Vessel-tracking data showed some traffic around the Strait of Hormuz in Asian morning hours Sunday, though movement through the chokepoint remained well below normal.

U.S. Central Command said President Trump ordered the strikes, which targeted Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels, after Iranian forces hit a Cyprus-flagged container ship. Iranian state media reported explosions along the country’s southern coast, including the energy hubs of Bushehr and Asalouyeh and the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e Dayyer.

Ether was similarly quiet at about $1,800, up 2% on the week. Solana was the weakest of the majors at $76, down 5% over seven days, while XRP slipped to $1.09 and dogecoin eased to about $0.07. The moves across the board were fractions of a percent on the day.

The muted response is the pattern now. When Iran first closed the Strait of Hormuz in early March, Brent crude jumped past $100 a barrel for the first time in four years and later peaked near $120, and bitcoin sold off sharply on each escalation.

Part of that is timing. Oil, equities and bonds are closed for the weekend, so bitcoin is the only large market open to price the strikes in real time, and it is treating them as close to a non-event.

The fuller cross-asset reaction, in crude especially, might not show until Monday. Roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil moves through Hormuz, and Brent had already carried a risk premium into the weekend after tanker traffic through the strait stayed below normal.

The real test comes Monday, however, if crude reopens with a sharp gap higher while bitcoin holds its ground. A calmer oil open would say the strait closure is being read as a threat Tehran has made and walked back before.

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