• Bitcoin fell to $71,067 on April 12, 2026, after U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad collapsed without a deal.
• The U.S. Navy deployed USS Frank Peterson and USS Murphy into the Strait of Hormuz to clear Iranian mines.
• Iran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear program ended negotiations, leaving roughly 2,000 vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf.

The price slide reversed gains from earlier in the week, when bitcoin climbed toward $74,000 on optimism that a two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran might hold. Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed the negotiations ended without an agreement, with Iran’s nuclear program and Strait access remaining unresolved.

President Trump announced on Truth Social that the Navy had begun “clearing out” the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a favor to countries around the world. He stated that all 28 of Iran’s mine-laying boats had been destroyed and were sitting at the bottom of the sea. U.S. Central Command confirmed the destroyers USS Frank Peterson and USS Michael Murphy had transited the waterway as part of a mine clearance and freedom-of-navigation operation.

Bitcoin fell roughly 2.5% within hours of the announcements, tracking the breakdown in diplomacy rather than the Navy’s operational progress in the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz carries approximately 20% of the world’s crude oil supply. Iran imposed a selective restriction in mid-March, cutting daily ship traffic from 138 vessels to as few as four or five. The International Maritime Organization estimates that roughly 2,000 ships, including six cruise liners and numerous oil tankers, remain stranded in the Persian Gulf along with 20,000 seafarers.

Global oil markets have responded sharply to the disruption, with prices spiking above $100 per barrel during prior escalation points in the conflict. Bitcoin has tracked those moves consistently, selling off on escalation signals and recovering briefly on ceasefire news.

Trump also accused Iran of charging tolls to pass through the Strait, reportedly $1 per barrel, with some demands for payment in cryptocurrency, including bitcoin.

Iran’s negotiating team in Islamabad included Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri. Trump said his representatives, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, spent nearly 20 hours in talks before returning without a deal. He credited Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with facilitating the session.

Trump stated clearly that Iran will never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. The nuclear disagreement, he said, outweighed progress on other issues reached during the Islamabad session.

NATO members, including Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, declined to participate militarily. Trump called those nations “cowards” and a “paper tiger.” Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on April 7 that would have authorized military force to reopen the waterway.

The first reports of supertankers successfully exiting the Strait under U.S. naval escort emerged Sunday morning. Iranian officials accused Washington of violating the ceasefire by entering the Strait without coordination. “No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump stated this weekend.

Bitcoin is trading as a risk asset in this environment, selling when conflict widens and recovering when pressure eases. Whether the mine clearance operation leads to a fully open waterway or Iran responds with further obstruction will determine the next move for both oil prices and crypto markets, and U.S. equities on Monday morning.

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