Key Highlights
- Iran’s foreign minister has announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
- The crypto market has reacted positively to the news, resulting in a price rally of major coins.
- Bitcoin trades over $77k, marking the highest level touched since February.
Major cryptocurrencies rallied on Friday following an announcement by Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi to reopen the Strait of Hormuz completely. Right after this announcement, leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP, along with others, started to move upward.
In an X post, Araghchi stated that the Strait of Hormuz will be completely open for all commercial vessels for the rest of the Lebanese cease-fire, along the coordinated route set by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization.
The move, associated with the fragile regional truce, has eased fears of supply disruptions in one of the world’s most critical choke points, igniting a broad risk-on sentiment over global markets.
The announcement comes amid the de-escalation efforts in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz accounts for around 20% of global oil trade; any closure or threat has so far impacted the crypto prices.
As safe passage is now guaranteed, reduced geopolitical tensions have boosted confidence in the digital assets. Major cryptocurrencies have posted sharp gains within hours of the announcement.
Effect on major cryptocurrencies
At the time of this writing, Bitcoin is trading around $77,647, up around 5.53% in the last 24 hours and 6.36% in the past week, as per CoinMarketCap. This marks the highest level touched since February. The asset has benefited from the broader market relief rally, having 24-hour volume surpassing $49.5 billion and market capitalization climbing back to $1.55T. Bitcoin dominance has also surged by 0.87% and hovers at 59.3%.
Meanwhile, Ethereum jumped to $2,440.13, gaining 6.16% in the past 24 hours, backed by renewed institutional interest and ETF flows. The intraday low and high hit $2,308.23 and $2,447.28. On the other hand, Solana (SOL) stood at $90.15, being up 6.41% in the past 24 hours. The 24-hour trading volume reached $7.66 billion, being 66.44% up.
XRP added 7% in the past 24 hours and hovers around $1.49, showing broader altcoin momentum. With this, the market capitalization of the token stands at $92.8 billion. Any activity in the US-Iran conflict has a direct or indirect impact on the crypto market. Last month, cryptocurrencies witnessed major price crashes due to developments in the conflict.
As reported by CoinMarketCap, the overall market capitalization today is 4.96% up, standing at $2.63 trillion, and the 30-day volume is $170.01 billion. The crypto fear and greed index remains at 64 points, showing a greed situation, meaning that the investors are showing interest in the market.
The top 5 cryptocurrencies today, as reported by the platform, are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP, and BNB.
Catalyst for crypto market
The Iranian foreign minister’s announcement has acted as a catalyst for a broad-based relief rally in the crypto market. By eliminating the major geopolitical threats impacting global energy supplies, the move has helped in restoring investor confidence and ignited risk-on sentiment over digital assets.
As geopolitical agreements in the Middle East remain fragile, any reversal in policy or fresh tensions could also reverse these gains. The coming days will unveil whether this rally sustains or blurs.
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