Live: Bitcoin Holds $86K as U.S. Stocks See Modest Gains

Bitcoin hovered around $86,000 on Tuesday as U.S. stocks posted small gains and crude oil prices weakened following reports that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week.

WTI crude fell more than 2.5% to an intraday low near $89 a barrel, leaving it about 15% below its September peak. Brent crude also moved below $98.

The decline followed reports citing a senior Iranian official who said Iran could reopen the strategic waterway within seven days if the U.S. reduced military pressure and lifted its port blockade. A sustained easing of regional tensions could support risk assets by bringing down energy costs and reducing inflationary pressure.

Bitcoin was trading around $86,000, up more than 1% over 24 hours. It was still about 1.5% below Monday’s evening high above $87,000 after reaching roughly $87,300 during the previous session.

Oil prices later recovered after Iranian sources disputed reports of an agreement to reopen Hormuz. LiveSquawk, citing Fars News Agency, reported that Iranian officials rejected claims from Kyodo and Reuters that Tehran was ready to reopen the Strait in exchange for an end to the U.S. blockade. WTI recovered to around $90.20 after hitting $89.16 earlier in the day.

U.S. markets were modestly higher shortly after Tuesday’s opening. The Nasdaq gained 0.4%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1%.

Technology stocks were among the stronger performers, with SanDisk up 6.7% and Google gaining 1.9%. Financial stocks remained under pressure, with JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup each down about 1%. The Federal Reserve’s latest rate-hike cycle has flattened the yield curve, creating pressure on lenders’ margins.

SoFi has also introduced stablecoin settlement for its $25 billion debit and credit card operation, using its SoFiUSD token across Mastercard’s payments network.

The arrangement keeps blockchain settlement behind the scenes, allowing merchants to receive payments without accepting or holding stablecoins. SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, a nationally chartered U.S. bank, and is redeemable one-for-one against the U.S. dollar.

SoFi said it is in discussions with major U.S. merchants and plans to explore cross-border payment and remittance applications with Mastercard.

The launch comes as SoFi shares remain 37% lower year to date. The company reported second-quarter adjusted net revenue of $1.2 billion, up 40%, while its membership base reached 15.8 million. Rising Treasury yields, valuation concerns and increased lending exposure have continued to weigh on sentiment toward the stock.

Bitcoin traders are also preparing for Friday’s approximately $14 billion Deribit options expiry, which Ledn co-founder Mauricio Di Bartolomeo described as the largest single expiration of the year.

Di Bartolomeo said September’s quarterly options cycle is effectively split into two stages. The first took place last week when BlackRock’s IBIT-linked options expired in what he described as the ETF’s largest expiration on record.

The contracts were heavily tilted toward calls, with maximum pain around $40 per share. Bitcoin’s move above $80,000 pushed a large group of those calls into profitable territory, forcing dealers that sold the contracts to adjust their hedges.

For IBIT, that hedging can involve buying ETF shares. The creation of new spot bitcoin ETF shares, in turn, requires bitcoin purchases, potentially extending options-related demand into the underlying market.

Friday’s Deribit contracts have significant call concentrations around $85,000 and $100,000, with bitcoin already above the lower threshold.

Gold remained little changed over the past 24 hours near $4,336 an ounce as bitcoin continued to consolidate around $86,000.