Bitcoin Tops $71,000 as Trump Postpones Iran Power Plant Strike Plans
The price move came after Donald Trump touted "productive conversations" regarding a cessation of hostilities in the Middle East.
By Stephen GravesMar 23, 2026Mar 23, 20262 min read
In brief
- Bitcoin surged to highs above $71,000 Monday morning.
- The cryptocurrency's price rise came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a five-day postponement of strikes against Iranian energy facilities.
- The pause followed "productive conversations" regarding a cessation of hostilities in the Middle East, Trump said.
Bitcoin surged to highs above $71,000 Monday morning, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced the postponement of planned strikes against Iranian power plants.
Bitcoin is currently trading at around $70,000, up 2.5% on the day, after reaching an intraday high of $71,224, per CoinGecko data, though it remains down on the week by some 5%.
Per CoinGlass, some $791 million in leveraged positions have been wiped out across the crypto market, $425 million of which were longs.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump touted "productive conversations" regarding a cessation of hostilities in the Middle East, announcing that he had instructed the U.S. military to pause planned strikes against Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, pending further meetings.
The announcement follows a post Sunday in which Trump threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours, though the president's most recent statement was unclear on what the "detailed" conversations had revolved around.
Markets reacted quickly to Trump's announcement, with gold bouncing back from lows of $4,101/oz Monday morning to its current price of $4,413/oz. Oil prices slipped, with Brent crude dropping from highs above $113 to a low of $98, before recovering to its current price of $105.91 per data from Trading Economics, while WTI plunged by more than 10% to around $88.5 per barrel, before settling at around $93.
On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, users turned markedly more bullish on Bitcoin's prospects, now putting a 49% chance on its next move taking it to $84,000 rather than $55,000—up from lows of 41% earlier in the day.
