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Bitcoin Hits $73,000 Amid Ceasefire Rally, But Coinbase Chief Gives Caution

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Performance

Coinbase Global Head of Investment Research David Duong said the US-Iran ceasefire provided markets with a relief valve, not a full reset, as Bitcoin price tops $73,000.

The two-week truce sent oil back into the low $90s and triggered a broad risk rally. However, Duong argued that underlying constraints from the war have not disappeared.

Why the Ceasefire Rally May Not Last

BTC was trading for $73,085 as of this writing, up by over 3% in the last 24 hours amid risk-on sentiment following the temporary US-Iran ceasefire.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Performance
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

Yet core disputes between the US and Iran remain unresolved. Shipping firms still want security assurances. The Strait of Hormuz may reopen only partially at first.

Meanwhile, the CPI report released Friday showed gasoline prices rose 21.2% in March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed this was the largest monthly increase since it began tracking the data in 1967.

Headline CPI climbed to 3.3% year over year, up from 2.4% in February.

Labor Data Adds Pressure on the Fed

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, nearly triple the 65,000 consensus. On the surface, that supports the Federal Reserve keeping rates elevated.

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However, Duong noted labor force participation stayed low at 61.9%. Wage growth slowed to 3.5% year over year. Prior payroll prints have also been consistently revised downward.

This leaves the Fed in an uncomfortable middle ground, according to Duong. Growth is softer than headline numbers suggest, but not weak enough to justify imminent rate cuts while war-driven inflation risks persist.

Duong identified $84 as the key oil level to watch. A sustained break below that threshold would signal fading inflation pressure and raise the odds of a quicker resolution.

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Brent Crude Price Performance
Brent Crude Price Performance. Source: TradingView

If oil reclaims and holds above $100, markets will likely begin pricing a longer conflict and renewed pressure on risk assets, including BTC.

Friday’s peace talks between the U.S. and Iran could determine whether this relief rally extends or reverses.

The post Bitcoin Hits $73,000 Amid Ceasefire Rally, But Coinbase Chief Gives Caution appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Crypto World

Bitcoin Community Weighs Reports of Hormuz Oil Tanker Fees Payable in BTC

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Dollar, Iran, Stablecoin, Bitcoin Adoption

The Bitcoin (BTC) community is discussing the feasibility and implications of the Iranian government accepting BTC for tolls paid by oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane through which about 20% of the global oil supply passes. 

The reactions were sparked by a Financial Times report, published on Wednesday, which said that the Iranian government was considering BTC payments for oil tolls to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States.

Several conflicting reports have been published since the Financial Times article, which suggest that the tolls are payable in stablecoins or Chinese yuan, according to Alex Thorn, the head of firmwide research at crypto investment firm Galaxy. 

Dollar, Iran, Stablecoin, Bitcoin Adoption
A map of the Strait of Hormuz. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

BTC advocate Justin Bechler said that stablecoins can be frozen by the issuer and cited the compliance controls introduced in the GENIUS stablecoin regulatory framework as reasons why the Iranian government would not collect tolls in US-dollar stablecoins. He said:

“USDT and USDC include built-in blacklist functions at the smart contract level. When an address is flagged, the issuer can freeze the tokens, rendering them completely illiquid. The law’s enforcement depends entirely on the compliance of issuers.

Bitcoin has no issuer, no compliance officer to pressure, and no freeze function. Iran’s pivot toward Bitcoin follows directly from this structural reality,” he added. 

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If the Iranian government begins accepting BTC for oil tanker payments, it would boost Bitcoin’s credibility as a neutral settlement layer for international transactions, advocates say.

Dollar, Iran, Stablecoin, Bitcoin Adoption
Source: Jack Mallers

Related: Crypto Biz: Will Bitcoin secure safe passage through the Hormuz Strait?

Iran would likely use QR codes to collect BTC payments

Thorn estimated that each oil tanker would need to pay between $200,000 and $2 million in tolls to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The initial reporting from the Financial Times cited a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, who said that ships would have a “few seconds” to complete payment in BTC.

This suggests that ships would pay via the Lightning Network, a layer-2 payment solution for BTC that allows parties to send transactions in seconds, rather than waiting for the 10-minute block confirmation.

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However, the largest known transaction over the Lightning network to date has been for $1 million, Thorn said. 

“More likely, the Iranian authorities would provide a QR code or alphanumeric Bitcoin address to the ships upon approval of their requests to pass through the Strait,” he added.

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