Bitcoin price started Friday, October 1, at $84,000. Then, disappointing US jobs data and falling Fed rate-hike odds triggered a bullish rally for BTC, taking the token near $87,000.
However, Bitcoin now ends the day at the same price it started, adding and losing $50 billion in a single day. So, what caused this volatility?
According to a British maritime agency, Iran struck a massive oil tanker in Hormuz, making it the sixth tanker attack this week. Oil prices barely flinched, but crypto markets reacted heavily.
Hormuz Remains a Decisive Factor for Markets
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the Royal Navy-run center that tracks threats to merchant ships, issued its warning on Friday.
A tanker’s master reported the hit at 11:22 UTC during an outbound transit. The impact sparked a small fire and knocked out power on board.
The crew put out the fire, and the ship kept moving. UKMTO reported no casualties or pollution.
The agency did not name the vessel or the attacker. Viral posts on X (Twitter) blamed Iran. UKMTO said only that authorities are investigating.
A day earlier, the Kuwait-flagged supertanker Kazimah III caught fire after a similar strike. Vessels faced at least 16 attacks in the strait in September, according to Seatrade.
Why Oil Held Steady While Bitcoin Fell
Binance data shows the Bitcoin price rejected near $87,000 for the third time in two weeks, after tops on September 22 and 23.
Crude told a calmer story. US crude spot traded near $93.70 and Brent spot near $106.30, each up less than 0.25% on the latest candles.
Brent futures had already fallen 2.89% to $99.35 earlier Friday, according to The National. Reports that the European Union and International Energy Agency (IEA) members were weighing stockpile releases drove that drop.
“Renewed US military deployments to the region kept the risk premium alive,” said Daniel Richards, senior economist at Emirates NBD.
Those deployments are growing. Washington has sent two more Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and is moving a third carrier strike group into the region, Axios reported.
President Donald Trump has also said he is weighing renewed bombing, a threat that has shadowed oil and Bitcoin markets for weeks.
Traders now face a test of whether Bitcoin can clear $87,000 while the strait remains under fire.