Oil Above $79, Bitcoin Below $62.2K: Strait Hormuz 'Takeover' Refuels Risk-Off 🛢️

President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States is "taking over" the Strait of Hormuz and that countries "must pay" the U.S. for defending the waterway, remarks that extended a selloff across crypto and equity markets. Brent crude oil prices climbed above $79 per barrel on the comments, deepening risk-off positioning as the trading session progressed on July 13.

"We're taking over the Strait. They have nothing… yesterday, they had an 11-hour meeting… and everything was agreed to yesterday, and they leave the room, and they call back and they say, 'we had to make a couple of change,'" Trump said. The president also issued a sharp warning to Iran following the collapse of talks, though specifics were not detailed in his remarks.

Bitcoin ($BTC) extended losses and fell below $62,200 as the crude move accelerated, dragging the broader crypto market capitalization down by roughly $20 billion over the session. The decline tracked with weakness across global equities as energy-sensitive sectors weighed on risk sentiment.

Brent's push above $79 marked a continuation of recent gains tied to Middle East tensions, with traders citing the Strait of Hormuz comments as the immediate catalyst for the latest leg higher. Higher oil prices have historically fed into inflation expectations and rate-path speculation, factors that have pressured high-beta assets including digital tokens.

Market participants pointed to the combination of energy-price upside and direct U.S. foreign-policy signaling as the main drivers of the cross-asset move. No central bank statement or scheduled economic release coincided with the drop, leaving geopolitics as the primary headline for the session.