Bitcoin Tops $74,000 as U.S. and Iran Clash Over Draft

Bitcoin climbed back above $74,000 on Friday as traders priced in a possible U.S.-Iran ceasefire after President Donald Trump outlined a draft framework and Iranian officials issued a point-by-point rebuttal.

Trump wrote that Iran “must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” should reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, and should allow the United States to remove enriched uranium left after last year’s strike. He added that “no money would change hands ‘until further notice’” and said he was heading to the Situation Room for a final determination.

Tehran’s response rejected several of those points and set out conditions of its own. Iranian officials called for $12 billion in frozen assets to be released up front, a ceasefire in Lebanon as a precondition, and no requirement that passage through the Strait of Hormuz be toll-free. They also rejected any clause requiring the destruction of buried enriched uranium.

A draft framework circulated among negotiators includes a proposed reconstruction package described by U.S. officials as an international “investment fund” totaling about $300 billion. Iran has described the package as war reparations. The president’s public post did not mention such a fund, creating a discrepancy over whether funds would move immediately.

Markets reacted to the apparent progress. Bitcoin traded around $74,161 on Friday, up about 1.1% over 24 hours, while its seven-day chart showed a roughly 3.6% decline. Traders noted that reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic could lower oil prices and affect inflation trends.

Officials in both capitals warned that conflicting public statements could shape perceptions and complicate negotiations. Key issues to be resolved include the timing of any asset releases, the scope of any ceasefire, and how a reconstruction fund would be disclosed and governed. Negotiators have roughly 60 days to reconcile their positions, and market participants are treating the draft as tentative until agreed language is published.