Brent crude prices drop 11% to $85.87 after US-Iran ceasefire, and crypto markets are paying attention

Brent crude just had one of its worst single sessions in recent memory, plunging as much as 11% to roughly $85-$87 per barrel. The catalyst: President Trump announced that Washington halted strikes against Iran at Tehran’s request, effectively establishing a ceasefire that markets had been hoping for but not exactly expecting this quickly. What happened and why oil cratered The sequence of events has been building for months. Multiple escalations between the US and Iran punctuated the period from May through July 2026, keeping energy traders on edge and Brent crude elevated on supply disruption fears. The Strait of Hormuz, for context, handles roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil consumption. When the two countries with the most influence over that chokepoint start exchanging blows, oil traders don’t sleep well. Trump’s statement that Iran itself requested the pause in hostilities shifted sentiment dramatically. A reported 60-day ceasefire extension between May and July gave markets enough confidence to start unwinding the geopolitical risk premium that had been baked into crude prices for weeks. The crypto connection is real this time Bitcoin approached $72,000 during early Ap...