Key Moments
- Bitcoin increased nearly 2% to $68,807.8, leading broader crypto gains as risk appetite improved.
- Statements from U.S. President Donald Trump about ending military operations in Iran in 2-3 weeks lifted market sentiment, though uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz remained.
- A new Google research paper warned that Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography could be vulnerable to future advances in quantum computing.
Bitcoin Advances After Muted March Trading
Bitcoin rose on Wednesday, spearheading a rally across major cryptocurrencies after U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iran war will end soon, spurring demand for risk assets.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency strengthened following a largely subdued performance in March, during which it still outperformed assets such as gold since the start of the Iran conflict.
By 02:24 ET (06:24 GMT), Bitcoin was up nearly 2% at $68,807.8.
Trump Signals Possible End to Iran Operations
Trump said on Tuesday evening that the U.S. planned to halt military operations against Iran in the next two or three weeks.
The president said the U.S. had met its objectives in Iran, including weakening the country’s nuclear ambitions, and asserted that Washington had also caused regime change in Tehran.
Trump added that it was not necessary for Tehran to accept a deal to end the war. This stance kept markets uncertain about whether the Strait of Hormuz will reopen.
Reports earlier this week, together with Trump’s comments, indicated that the U.S. will not seek to reopen the strait, instead leaving that effort to European and Gulf partners.
Iranian ministers said they will reopen the strait but strongly suggested they could impose a toll on vessels passing through. Oil prices moved sharply on Wednesday in response.
Energy-driven inflation linked to the Iran conflict had been a key concern for markets through March, amid worries that major global central banks could adopt a more hawkish policy stance.
Such an environment is typically negative for speculative assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Google Highlights Quantum Threat to Crypto Security
Google researchers said in a recent paper that cryptocurrencies could face greater risk from advances in quantum computing than previously believed.
According to a Google white paper, quantum computing may be able to break elliptic curve cryptography, which underpins Bitcoin’s security framework.
Google’s quantum team showed that compromising elliptic curve cryptography might require fewer than 500,000 physical qubits on a superconducting quantum computer, about 20 times fewer qubits than earlier estimates.
Although the hardware needed for such a system does not exist in practical form today, Google researchers warned that such machines could emerge by 2029. They urged the cryptocurrency industry to begin evaluating a migration of blockchains to post-quantum cryptography.
The research credited contributions from Coinbase, the Stanford Institute for Blockchain Research, and the Ethereum Foundation.
Altcoins Track Bitcoin Higher on De-escalation Optimism
Broader cryptocurrency markets moved higher alongside Bitcoin on expectations of an eventual end to the Iran war.
| Asset | Price | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | $68,807.8 | +nearly 2% |
| Ether (world no.2 crypto) | $2,148.85 | +4.2% |
| XRP | $1.3605 | +2.8% |
| Solana | – | +1% to 2.5% |
| Cardano | – | +1% to 2.5% |
| BNB | – | +1% to 2.5% |
| Dogecoin | – | +2.7% |
| $TRUMP | – | Flat |
World no.2 token Ether climbed 4.2% to $2,148.85, while XRP rose 2.8% to $1.3605.
Solana, Cardano, and BNB registered gains between 1% and 2.5%.
Within the memecoin segment, Dogecoin added 2.7%, while $TRUMP was unchanged.
Most altcoins had shown flat-to-soft performance through March as the Iran war weighed on appetite for speculative trades. Even so, the crypto sector still performed relatively better than other risk-oriented assets.
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