- Bitcoin drops 1.0% to USD 71,085 on Trump's Hormuz block threat.
- WTI crude surges 4.2% to USD 92.50 per barrel on NYMEX.
- USD 450M crypto liquidations hit in 24 hours, per Coinglass.
President Donald Trump's Bitcoin Hormuz block threat drops Bitcoin 1.0% to USD 71,085 as of 1600 UTC on April 13, 2026, per CoinMarketCap data. Ethereum falls 1.4% to USD 2,193.44. XRP declines 0.6% to USD 1.33.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index plunges to 12 from 25 yesterday, signaling extreme fear, according to Alternative.me metrics.
Oil Supply Shock Fuels Crypto Sell-Off
WTI crude futures climb 4.2% to USD 92.50 per barrel on NYMEX, the highest since Q4 2025. The Strait of Hormuz channels 21 million barrels daily, or 21% of global petroleum liquids consumption, per U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2025 annual report.
Trump accuses Iran of 2026 JCPOA violations, escalating tensions. This potential blockade threatens 5% of world oil supply, per EIA estimates. Oil shocks historically add 0.4-0.8 percentage points to global CPI within three months, Goldman Sachs analysts note in a April 13 research note.
Risk-off flows dominate markets. S&P 500 futures slide 0.8% to 5,320, per Bloomberg Terminal data. Crypto amplifies equity moves as a high-beta asset class with 0.85 correlation to Nasdaq over the past year, per Kaiko analytics.
"Hormuz threats liquidate crypto positions first due to high leverage," says Mike McGlone, senior macro strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Bitcoin Hormuz Block Pressures Risk Assets
Grayscale's Zach Pandl forecasts deeper downside. "A Hormuz block sends Brent crude above USD 100, strengthens DXY, and squeezes crypto liquidity," Pandl writes in an April 13 client note.
Dogecoin drops 2.1% to USD 0.42. BNB edges down 0.1% to USD 596.34. USDT stablecoins hold at USD 1.00 parity.
Transmission mechanism activates: Oil spikes lift U.S. CPI by 0.6 points in Q2 2026 projections, per Oxford Economics. Fed hike probabilities rise to 65% for June via CME FedWatch Tool. USD index gains bolster carry trade unwinds, hitting crypto hardest.
Inflation Pass-Through Reshapes Fed Outlook
Fed Chair Jerome Powell highlighted energy shocks in his March 2026 congressional testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. "Transient oil spikes can derail disinflation," Powell stated.
STOXX 600 futures fall 1.1%. Nikkei 225 opens 1.3% lower at 38,450. Yen rises 0.5% to USD/JPY 142.30, per Refinitiv FX data.
"Japan faces 2% CPI jump from import costs, pressuring BOJ normalization," says Karen Ward, chief global economist at JPMorgan.
Coinglass reports USD 450 million in crypto liquidations over 24 hours, with longs comprising 72%. Bitcoin open interest shrinks 5% to USD 28 billion, per the platform.
Central Banks Monitor Oil Spillover Effects
ECB meets April 15 to evaluate oil's impact on eurozone HICP CPI, projected at 2.8% for Q2 2026 in staff macroeconomic projections. BOJ April minutes stress yen stability amid 15% higher import bills year-over-year.
Bitcoin tests its 50-day moving average at USD 73,200, down from USD 75,400 on April 10, per Glassnode on-chain data. Breakdown eyes USD 68,000 Fibonacci support.
Defensives Gain as Equities Slide
Gold advances 1.2% to USD 2,650 per troy ounce on COMEX. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields dip 4 basis points to 4.15%, per U.S. Treasury data.
"Crypto-Nasdaq correlation hits 0.85 amid risk-off," notes Noelle Acheson, research director at Genesis Trading.
DXY index rises 0.3% to 106.40. Turkish lira weakens 1.8% to 34.50 per USD.
U.S. oil import exposure stands at 7.5 million barrels daily via Hormuz-linked routes, or 35% of total imports, per EIA weekly petroleum status report.
Key Risks: Escalation and Economic Transmission
White House announces U.S. Navy carrier deployments to the Gulf. Iran pledges retaliation via proxies.
"Brent above USD 95 locks in full risk-off across assets," McGlone reiterates.
Ether staking yields steady at 3.2% APR, per Beaconcha.in dashboard. Spot ETH ETF inflows slow to USD 120 million for the week, per Farside Investors data.
EIA weekly inventories release due April 15 at 10:30 ET. OPEC+ overcomplies 102% with voluntary cuts, per IEA April oil market report.
Bitcoin ETFs record net outflows of USD 180 million on April 12, per BlackRock iShares filings. XRP volume surges 12% to USD 1.8 billion daily average.
Bitcoin holds above USD 70,000 amid persistent Bitcoin Hormuz block fears, or breaches toward March 2026 lows at USD 65,200.
