Investing.com — reversed initial losses to move slightly higher on Thursday, after a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire was strengthened after Israel agreed to negotiate with Lebanon, removing a key contention point between all warring parties.
The world’s largest crypto rose sharply earlier this week after the U.S. and Iran’s ceasefire agreement and openness to in-person peace talks. But the ceasefire appeared frayed by Thursday, while President Donald Trump also kept up a harsh rhetoric against Iran.
At 17:41 ET (21:41 GMT), Bitcoin was up 1.1% to $72,349.8.
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Beyond the Iran war, focus also remained on a U.S. bill aimed at offering more regulatory clarity for the crypto industry– the CLARITY act. But the bill was far from gaining enough support to clear Congress. Meanwhile, an economic data blitz was also in the spotlight.
Israel and Lebanon agree to negotiate
Market focus was squarely on the status of the agreed upon ceasefire, especially after Tehran said both the U.S. and Israel had violated several parts of its 10-point proposal.
Iran called for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire and that Israel cease its hostilities with the country– a demand that was rejected by both the U.S. and Israel.
But things took a turn after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed at the Government meeting yesterday to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.”
“The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishing of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the call made today by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” Netanyahu added.
Still, Iran has halted oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump said that the U.S. military would remain around Iran until a “real agreement” is reached.
Iran to demand Bitcoin fees for Hormuz passage
Iran will demand that shipping companies pay tolls in crypto for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported.
The FT cited comments from Iran’s Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, and reported that vessels attempting to cross Hormuz will be assessed by Iran and be subject to a Bitcoin fee.
Iran effectively blocked the strait – which supplies about 20% of the world’s oil consumption – in response to U.S. and Israeli hostilities. Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to reopen the passage as part of a ceasefire deal.
Slew of U.S. economic data ahead of CPI
Also in focus on Thursday was U.S. economic data which could give cues about the state of monetary policy. Higher interest rates tend to act as a headwind for speculative assets such as crypto.
The February personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, widely seen as the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, ticked up 0.4% M/M, in-line with the consensus estimate and the prior month’s reading. On a Y/Y basis, the index rose 3%, also in-line with the consensus and lower than January’s 3.1% increase.
Still, the Y/Y metric remained well above the Fed’s target of 2%. Crucially, the data does not include the impact of surging oil prices from the Iran war, suggesting that U.S. inflation was already running hot ahead of the conflict.
A more telling reading on inflation will arrive on Friday in the form of the March consumer price index (CPI). Though not the Fed’s favored gauge, the data will include any impact from the war and could be the first indication of how bad the oil shock might be.
Also on Thursday’s docket, U.S. consumers’ personal income fell 0.1% M/M in February. Separately, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said U.S. real GDP grew at an annual rate of 0.5% in Q4 2025, a revised figure from an earlier estimate of 0.7% and an initial estimate of 1.4%.
“Economic growth was waning even before the war in the Middle East. Offsetting the weakness is a stable labor market, solid corporate profit growth, and strong demand for technology. Looking ahead, expect super core inflation to remain above 3%, growth to slow to 2%, and a subset of the corporate sector to support the economy amid the geopolitical ambiguity,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, said.
’s Saylor: Bitcoin has bottomed, quantum risks are overblown
Elsewhere, Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, said Bitcoin price has likely already bottomed, and pushed back on concerns that quantum computing poses a near-term threat to the network.
Saylor attributed the recent drawdown to forced selling by over-leveraged miners and weaker holders, arguing that once that supply clears, the downside becomes limited.
Steady ETF inflows, improving liquidity conditions, and growing corporate treasury demand are factors supporting the price, Saylor said, speaking at a recent Mizuho investor event, and suggested Bitcoin likely bottomed around $60,000.
On quantum computing, he said any credible threat would materialize slowly enough for the network to respond, with Bitcoin’s open-source architecture allowing developers to implement quantum-resistant upgrades well ahead of any practical risk.
Crypto price today: altcoins mostly follow Bitcoin higher
Turning to broader crypto prices, they largely moved higher with Bitcoin.
World no.2 crypto Ether was flat at $2,213.50, while inched up 0.2% to $1.3553.
, Cardano, and added 0.3%, 1.1%, and 1.2%, respectively.
Among memecoins, rose 0.5%, while was little changed.
Ambar Warrick and Vahid Karaahmetovic contributed to this article