President Donald Trump's prime-time address on the Iran war Wednesday night crushed a two-day relief rally across global markets, sending Bitcoin (BTC) below $67,000 as escalation rhetoric replaced the diplomatic off-ramp investors had been counting on.
Trump's Escalation Speech
Trump told the nation during a 19-minute address that "core strategic objectives are nearing completion," then pivoted sharply toward further military action. "We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," he said. "We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong."
The speech offered no timeline to end the conflict and no plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Markets had rallied for two consecutive sessions on expectations of a diplomatic signal. They got the opposite.
Brent crude surged 5% to above $106 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate jumped 4.1% to $104. S&P 500 futures fell 1.1%, while European futures dropped 1.5%. Gold lost 1.4% to $4,691 per ounce. Silver fell 3%, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.36%.
Bitcoin dropped 3.3% from an intraday high of $69,135 to $66,818.
Ethereum (ETH) fell 2.8% to $2,084. The entire crypto relief rally evaporated in a single evening.
Trump also urged oil-importing nations to "build some delayed courage" and secure the Hormuz waterway themselves. He named South Korea, Japan and China directly. South Korea's KOSPI fell 3.5%, the worst performer in Asia. Japan's Nikkei lost 1.8%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped about 1%.
At a White House Easter lunch hours earlier, Trump said the U.S. could "just take their oil" but added that Americans lack "the patience" for it. He also dropped his Apr. 6 deadline threat to bomb Iran's power grid. He made no mention of NATO, ground troops or ongoing negotiations.
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Iran's Toll System and Hormuz Standoff
Iran showed no signs of yielding. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there are no direct negotiations with Washington and that Tehran's trust in the U.S. stands at zero. President Masoud Pezeshkian posted an open letter in English asking Americans which of their interests the war truly serves.
Iran's parliament continues working on legislation to make its Hormuz toll system permanent.
The IRGC already charges vessels up to $2 million per transit, settled in stablecoins or Chinese yuan. If codified into law, this regime would outlast any ceasefire.
Trump says the strait will "open up naturally" once the war ends. Iran is building a toll structure designed to endure indefinitely. Oil, bond and crypto traders all reached the same conclusion Wednesday night: this conflict is not ending soon.
War Halts Crypto Recovery
The timing of Trump's escalation dealt a particular blow to the crypto market.
Bitcoin had been staging a recovery from weeks of pressure tied to tariff uncertainty and broader risk-off sentiment. The two-day rally that preceded the speech had lifted BTC back above $69,000, with traders positioning for a potential move toward $70,000.
That momentum vanished within minutes of Trump's remarks. The reversal underscored how directly exposed digital assets remain to geopolitical risk. With no diplomatic resolution in sight and Iran entrenching its Hormuz toll regime, the conditions that had supported the recovery no longer exist.
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