Bitcoin Rides Oil's Skid Past $86K as Trump Hints Iran Kept It Short ⏱️

Bitcoin hovered around $86,000 on Wednesday, recovering from Asian-session lows near $85,000 after a sharp drop in oil prices and broad gains in U.S. equities supported risk appetite across crypto markets. BTC $86,756.27 last traded close to that level as traders weighed developments out of the United Nations General Assembly. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) rose 2.2% over 24 hours, while U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs attracted nearly $1 billion in inflows on Monday, their largest single-day haul since October last year.

WTI crude futures fell more than 2% to below $90 a barrel, extending a retreat from a recent high near $106. Speaking to reporters, President Donald Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials met for several hours on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and described the talks as "very good" and "very productive." He identified U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as participants alongside Iranian representatives such as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and said another round of talks is scheduled in the near future. The session followed a Kyodo report that Iran was willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the U.S. eased its blockade. WTI later traded lower by 2.8% at $89.75 per barrel.

"The crypto market gained ground against the backdrop of a sharp rise in the Nasdaq index. Falling oil prices and US government bond yields, rising global stock markets and optimism regarding US-China negotiations supported risk appetite," Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at The FxPro, said in an email. Lower energy costs could ease inflationary pressures and weaken the case for additional Federal Reserve interest-rate increases in the coming months.

Futures data pointed to short-covering as the main engine of the rally. Total crypto futures volume jumped 38% to $292 billion over 24 hours, while open interest rose just 1% to $157 billion, pushing the volume-to-OI ratio to nearly 2. Combined with $768 million in liquidations, mostly shorts, the figures suggest a short squeeze rather than fresh, conviction-driven positioning. Bitcoin's futures OI climbed to 716,000 BTC, the highest since Aug. 25, though still below the roughly 750,000 BTC average seen from April to July, while ether and solana traders remained on the sidelines.

The broader crypto market stayed active as bitcoin paused, with PEPE, DOGE and SHIB ranking among the 10 best-performing cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours. Separately, ZetaChain holders voted overwhelmingly to retire the blockchain and migrate the ZETA token to Solana.