Bitcoin Edges Higher as Hormuz Reopening Bets Push S&P 500 to Record High
Key Takeaways
- •Bitcoin traded near $64,176, posting intraday gains of about 1% and reaching its highest level so far in August.
- •US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Strait of Hormuz traffic could restart as soon as Wednesday, reinforcing hopes of easing US-Iran tensions.
- •WTI and Brent crude both fell sharply to their lowest levels since July 13 after the latest remarks on the waterway.
- •The S&P 500 reached a new record high of 7,713, and its market capitalization crossed $70 trillion for the first time.
- •CryptoQuant said Bitcoin accumulation remained strong, with about 155,000 coins held by investors whose cost basis is between $62,000 and $65,000.
Bitcoin touched new August highs ahead of Tuesday’s Wall Street open as markets bet that US-Iran tensions were easing again.
Key points:
- Bitcoin (BTC) moved higher as optimism over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz helped push stocks to new all-time highs.
- Oil prices fell to their lowest levels since July 13, with oil traffic potentially resuming on Wednesday.
- BTC traded between two daily moving averages as analysis pointed to “strong accumulation.”
S&P 500 tops $70 trillion market cap on new high
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD rising to $64,176 on Bitstamp, marking intraday gains of about 1%.
Oil prices reacted quickly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could restart as soon as Wednesday.
Bessent told CNBC that there was “a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position” in the US-Iran war amid ongoing talks between the two sides.
His remarks came one day after US President Donald Trump confirmed that reopening the waterway was under discussion, saying it could happen “as soon as tomorrow.”
WTI and Brent crude were down 4.8% and 4.6%, respectively, at the time of writing, reaching their lowest levels since July 13.
US stock futures advanced before the open, helping the S&P 500 index reach a new record high of 7,713. Its market capitalization crossed $70 trillion for the first time.
The move put a broader risk backdrop in focus for crypto traders, since Bitcoin was advancing at the same time but with more restrained price action than equities and oil.
Analysts said a resolution to the Hormuz closure could also shape market sentiment around future Federal Reserve policy decisions. Amid a widening hawkish split among Fed officials on interest rates, markets were pricing a 56.7% chance that policymakers would raise rates by 0.25% at their September meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
Bloomberg macro strategist Michael Ball said, “Chairman Kevin Warsh’s limited guidance on the Fed’s reaction function means upcoming data, oil prices and the bond market will have a greater influence on the market’s expectations for the policy path.”
BTC accumulation remains “strong” in a narrow range
Bitcoin price action remained more subdued than stocks as BTC/USD moved above $64,000.
The pair stayed capped by its 21-day simple moving average (SMA) at $64,388, while the 50-day SMA provided support on hourly time frames.
With price action rangebound, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant said investor accumulation remained “strong.” It reported that 0.7% of Bitcoin’s supply, or about 155,000 coins, now belongs to investors with a cost basis between $62,000 and $65,000.
“This points to absorption rather than capitulation, as buyers accumulated into weakness,” CryptoQuant said on Monday.
Related: US yen intervention puts Bitcoin, risk assets on notice for liquidity flux
Bitcoin price wedged into most divided FOMC as Iran war spikes oil prices
How Fake World Assets and onchain gacha became crypto’s latest craze