Bitcoin slips below $71,000 as Trump orders blockade of Strait of Hormuz

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin slips below $71,000 as Trump orders blockade of Strait of Hormuz "Effective immediately, the United States Navy ... will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," said the president in a social media post. By Stephen Alpher Apr 12, 2026, 1:46 p.m. Make preferred on President Trump (Library of Congress on Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk) Crypto prices are under further pressure during U.S. morning hours on Sunday after President Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. "Effective immediately, the United States Navy ... will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," said the president in a social media post . The president's move came hours after Vice President J.D. Vance late Saturday announced that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had failed to agree to an extended ceasefire after long weekend meetings in Pakistan. Trading above $73,000 for most of Saturday, bitcoin quickly pulled back to the $71,500 area following the Vance comments. In the minutes since President Trump announced the blockade, BTC has slid further to $70,900, now lower by 2.5% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin News More For You Encryption Supremacy: Zcash and Privacy in the Age of Scale By CoinDesk Research Mar 31, 2026 Commissioned by GenZcash Most crypto privacy models weaken as blockchain data grows. Encryption-based models like Zcash strengthen. CoinDesk Research maps the five privacy approaches and examines the widening gap. Why it matters : As blockchain adoption scales, the metadata available to machine learning models scales with it. Obfuscation-based privacy approaches are structurally degrading as a result. This report provides a comprehensive comparison of all five major crypto privacy architectures and a framework for evaluating which models remain durable as AI capabilities improve. View Full Report More For You Bitcoin analysts flag triggers for a massive surge to $88,000 even as war risks linger By Omkar Godbole 25 minutes ago Key factors, such as ETF flows, macro factors and on-chain supply favor a rally in bitcoin even as war risks linger. What to know : Despite a brief pullback tied to renewed geopolitical tensions, analysts say strong institutional inflows and technical signals are positioning bitcoin for a potential move toward $88,000 and beyond. Heavy buying by major holders such as Strategy and robust net inflows into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, alongside rising Coinbase premiums and... Read full story Latest Crypto News Bitcoin analysts flag triggers for a massive surge to $88,000 even as war risks linger 25 minutes ago Super PAC tied to Tether makes first ad buy from firm founded by Tether's U.S. CEO 46 minutes ago Commodity traders are getting debanked due to Iran war, pushing them to rely on stablecoins 1 hour ago Tron’s Justin Sun slams Trump-backed WLFI for treating users as ‘personal ATM’ after $75 Million DeFi loan 1 hour ago Trump token sees whale accumulation ahead of Mar-a-Lago gala; senators raise questions over event 2 hours ago Why North Korea keeps stealing billions in crypto — out in the open 3 hours ago Top Stories Bitcoin and other cryptos fall as U.S., Iranian negotiators fail to reach war resolution 11 hours ago Bhutan has sold 70% of its bitcoin in 18 months. It may have stopped BTC mining too. Apr 11, 2026 Federal judge blocks Arizona from bringing criminal charges against Kalshi Apr 10, 2026 Trump-backed WLFI token drops 12% to record lows after team defends multi-million lending position Apr 10, 2026 Crypto perpetuals predict the direction of Wall Street’s Monday open with 89% accuracy, data shows 22 hours ago $1.6 billion Ether Machine SPAC deal collapses over unfavorable market 20 hours ago