Bitcoin tops $82K after Trump rejects Iran peace offer

Bitcoin rose above $82,000 on Sunday after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran’s counteroffer was ‘TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.’ The post coincided with a short-lived market drop that later reversed, leading to significant short-position liquidations.

The price fell from about $81,430 to $80,520 within roughly 45 minutes after the post, then climbed nearly 2.3% to about $82,347 less than three hours later. Market data show roughly $64 million in short positions were liquidated over the four hours following the price swing. As of this writing, BTC was trading around $81,000.

Iran’s counteroffer reportedly included requests that the U.S. pay war reparations and unfreeze Iranian financial assets. Trump’s rejection of the proposal removed hopes for an imminent settlement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the war will not end until Iran’s uranium sites are dismantled.

Oil rose 4.6% to about $98.70 per barrel after the comments, reflecting concern over possible supply disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz. S&P 500 futures were about 0.13% higher roughly two hours after the post.

Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, pointed to two U.S. developments this week that could affect bitcoin: a Senate vote on Monday to confirm Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair and a Thursday Senate Banking Committee markup of the CLARITY Act. Thielen noted Warsh is viewed as more hawkish on inflation and said the CLARITY Act could provide regulatory clarity for digital assets.

Since the U.S.-Iran conflict began on Feb. 28, bitcoin has gained about 29.7%, outperforming the S&P 500 and gold over the same period. Bitcoin remains below its October high near $126,080.