Bitcoin (BTC) Trades Near $77K as US Airstrikes on Iran Drive Global Bond Selloff

Oil Jumps on US-Iran Clash

United States Central Command has carried out new airstrikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets inside Iran, and the escalation is rippling through every risk market — from Brent crude to Bitcoin (BTC). President Trump described the strikes as retaliation for Iranian mine-laying near the Strait of Hormuz and an attack on a US base in Jordan, while the IRGC announced its own retaliatory action. Brent crude surged 4.6% to $94.65 per barrel on supply-disruption fears. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened new banking sanctions against Tehran as early as this week and argued that bypass pipelines could make the Strait of Hormuz obsolete within two years. Iranian President Pezeshkian signaled Tehran would reciprocate immediately if Washington re-honors the memorandum toward a permanent peace deal. The macro read-through was swift: the US 10-year Treasury yield climbed 5bp to 4.80%, the VIX volatility gauge jumped 9.52% to 16.34, and the S&P 500 fell 0.71% to 7,631.5. Underlying data added fuel — July job openings came in at 7.271 million, short of the 7.3 million expected, the August ISM manufacturing PMI slipped from 55.6 to 54.6, and construction spending fell 0.5% to $2.16 trillion annualized, a roughly three-year low. Fed governor Michael Barr said rates must rise decisively if inflation fails to slow, noting prices have run above the 2% target for more than five years. The selloff was global: eurozone headline HICP accelerated to 3.3% year-on-year, the UK 10-year gilt yield spiked 16bp to 5.22% — the highest since 2008 — and Japan's 10-year yield touched 3.01% for the first time in about 30 years, raising copy trading style carry-unwind concerns among leveraged desks. Risk-sensitive Asian equities, including those tracked by the South Korea-focused EWY ETF universe, held up comparatively better.

Gold Breaks Below 200-Day Average

The dollar and gold told the inflation story from opposite sides. The dollar index firmed 0.24% to 99.67 as safe-haven demand and surging yields pulled capital into dollar assets, while gold — normally a geopolitical winner — dropped 2.45% to $4,328.8 per ounce. The mechanism is opportunity cost: gold pays no yield, so with the 10-year Treasury near 4.8% and the dollar firming simultaneously, non-yielding bullion carries a double burden for both domestic and foreign buyers. Technically, the metal broke back below its 200-day moving average near $4,528, a level technical analysts flag as a key trend signal, accelerating the selling. Fed funds futures now price roughly a 68% chance of a September rate hike, up sharply from about 35% before Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole remarks. Strategists at UBS and elsewhere note there is no clear path to Strait of Hormuz normalization, and that policy uncertainty, fiscal worries and record AI-linked corporate bond issuance are all pressuring bond markets — a dynamic with implications for growth-sensitive sectors from credit funds such as Blackstone to chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices that sit at the center of the AI capex debate. The calendar now drives everything: ADP private employment on September 2, the August nonfarm payrolls report on September 4 with consensus at 56,000 new jobs, CPI on September 11, and the FOMC meeting on September 15-16. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Bitget.

Bitcoin Sits Near $77K

Our aggregate market data shows crypto absorbing the shock without a flight: Bitcoin (BTC) trades near $77,346, BTC dominance across COINOTAG-tracked assets stands at 69.1%, total tracked market cap is $2.249 trillion, and the Fear & Greed Index holds at 63 (Greed). Payrolls and CPI will decide whether that resilience lasts.