Bitcoin Slips as Trump Tells Advisors He Wants to End US-Iran War Quickly

Bitcoin slips 1% in early trading hours on Thursday as reports emerged that US President Donald Trump has privately informed his advisors that he wants to wrap up the ongoing US-Iran war in the coming weeks.

President Donald Trump Tells Aides He Wants to End the US-Iran War Quickly

President Trump privately told his advisors that he wants to avoid a prolonged war with Iran and hopes to end the US-Iran war in the coming weeks. He believes the conflict is in its final stages, urging officials to adhere to a four to six-week timeline.

White House officials confirmed Trump’s mid-May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, expecting the US-Iran war to end before the meeting. Trump’s visit to China was originally planned for the end of March.

Trump told an associate that the war was distracting from his other priorities, The Wall Street Journal reported. He plans to focus on the upcoming midterm elections and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, and deploy ICE agents to airports.

The news comes amid a ceasefire effort by Trump amid potential US-Iran peace talks. Bitcoin, oil, and gold prices have witnessed heightened volatility amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. While de-escalation hopes previously triggered rallies in risk assets like Bitcoin, the latest comments amid a US military deployment in the Middle East caused uncertainty.

“The U.S. will hit Iran harder than they have ever been hit before if Tehran doesn’t make an agreement to end the conflict,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Bitcoin Dips amid Mixed Signals on Negotiations

Bitcoin wavered as Iran rejected the ceasefire terms and pushed the US to agree with their own conditions to fully end the war. The conditions include removing all U.S. sanctions, compensating wartime damages, more control over the Strait of Hormuz, a ballistic missile program, and no future U.S. military action.

BTC price fell 1% lower in the last few hours, currently trading at $70,712. The 24-hour low and high are $70,558 and $71,985, respectively. Meanwhile, trading volume remained lower despite Bernstein’s Bitcoin bottoming prediction and $150K year-end target.

Oil prices rising today also erased some gains, with crypto traders eyeing more than $16 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiry on Friday. Derivatives market data showed a decline in BTC open interest over the last few hours.