Bitcoin climbed on Monday, recovering from earlier Asian-session losses after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would delay its planned strikes on Iran’s power plants.
As of 2:08 GMT, Bitcoin had surged 5.60 percent to $71,662, after falling as low as $67,363 earlier in the day.
U.S. and Iran engage in “productive conversations”
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, came under pressure last week as speculative assets were hit by mounting concerns over how the Iran war could affect global inflation and interest rates. However, prices moved higher on Monday after Trump indicated he was stepping back from planned strikes on Iran.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said both sides had engaged in very good and productive conversations focused on achieving a complete and total resolution to tensions in the Middle East. He also said any strikes on Iran’s infrastructure would be postponed for five days.
Before Trump’s remarks, Bitcoin was trading in negative territory as risk-sensitive assets broadly weakened, with stocks, currencies and gold also declining on Monday.
On Saturday, Trump said Iran had 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. strikes targeting critical energy infrastructure. In response, Tehran threatened to fully shut the Strait.
Read: Bitcoin breaches $74,000 as institutional resilience defies geopolitical turbulence
Bitcoin outperforms precious metals
Bitcoin has outperformed gold and other precious metals over the past month, with bullion attracting only modest demand despite elevated geopolitical tensions worldwide.
Over the last month, Bitcoin gained roughly 9 percent, while spot gold had fallen about 12 percent as of Monday. Gold saw only limited safe-haven inflows, as concerns over rising global inflation and interest rates outweighed demand for the metal.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, drew support from improving U.S. regulatory signals over the past month. It also benefited from bargain hunting after losing as much as 50 percent from its October all-time high.
Mirroring Bitcoin’s rebound, the broader cryptocurrency market also recovered on Monday after Trump’s announcement.
Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 4.96 percent to $2,181.57, while XRP gained 3.61 percent to $1.44.
BNB, Solana and Cardano gained between 2.83 percent and 4.66 percent on Monday, while Dogecoin advanced 3 percent and $TRUMP climbed 2.87 percent.
