Bitcoin rebounds in Asia after Senate votes 50-47 to curb Trump’s Iran war powers
Oil and Treasury yields fell alongside the bounce as traders waited for the 18:00 UTC FOMC minutes.
Major cryptocurrencies bounced during Wednesday Asian hours after a 50-47 U.S. Senate vote to curb President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers was framed as easing market uncertainty. The move tracked a broader risk-on pulse with oil and Treasury yields lower ahead of the April FOMC minutes at 18:00 UTC.
Key Takeaways
- A 50-47 U.S. Senate vote to curb President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers was framed as reducing market uncertainty.
- Bitcoin traded around $77,200 in Wednesday Asian hours, up about 0.5% since midnight UTC, while ether, XRP and solana gained roughly 0.4% to 0.8%.
- The bounce followed five straight down days that dragged BTC from about $82,000 to nearly $76,000 amid firmer Treasury yields and talk of “massive outflows” from spot bitcoin ETFs.
- Macro tape leaned risk-on at the same time, with WTI crude down 0.75% to $103.42, 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields down more than two basis points each, and Nasdaq futures up 0.33%.
Asia-Hours Crypto Rebound Follows 50-47 Senate Vote on Iran War Powers
Bitcoin stabilized and pushed higher in Wednesday’s Asian session as geopolitical risk premium cooled at the margin. The U.S. Senate passed a measure to curb President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers by a 50-47 vote, an outcome described as easing uncertainty that has hung over global markets since the conflict began in late February.
BTC traded around $77,200, about 0.5% higher since midnight UTC, while XRP, ether and solana posted modest gains of roughly 0.4% to 0.8% in the same window. The price action looked less like a crypto-native catalyst and more like a beta trade responding to a shift in macro risk appetite.
Cross-Asset Risk Pulse: Oil Down, Yields Down, Nasdaq Futures Up
The cross-asset confirmation mattered more than the crypto prints. WTI crude futures fell 0.75% to $103.42, while yields on the 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury notes dropped by more than two basis points each. Nasdaq futures rose 0.33%.
For crypto traders, that combination is the cleanest read-through: lower oil can ease near-term inflation pressure, and lower yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding or high-volatility assets. The Senate vote functioned as a sentiment catalyst, but the real transmission channel into crypto pricing ran through rates and energy.
Backdrop: Five-Day BTC Slide, Higher Yields, and Spot ETF Outflow Talk
The rebound landed after a five-session drawdown that pulled BTC to nearly $76,000 from about $82,000. That slide coincided with “hardened” Treasury yields and reports of “massive outflows” from spot bitcoin ETFs, though no figure or timeframe was provided.
That missing detail is not trivial. Without quantified ETF flow data, it is hard to separate mechanical selling pressure from narrative-driven de-risking. Still, the sequence fits a familiar market-structure pattern: higher yields tighten financial conditions, marginal buyers step back, and crypto’s high-beta complex tries to find a base.
A separate policy thread also hit the tape. Trump directed the Federal Reserve to review how depository institutions may be granted access to payment services, a development framed as critical for crypto firms that have struggled to secure stable banking relationships and integrate with traditional settlement networks. Naeem Aslam, CIO at Zaye Capital Markets, said: “Wider access to payment rails and depository services can improve institutional confidence, liquidity, settlement efficiency, and long-term adoption,” tying the directive to longer-horizon market structure rather than today’s bounce.
18:00 UTC FOMC Minutes as the Next Volatility Trigger
The next near-term catalyst is scheduled: the April FOMC meeting minutes are due at 18:00 UTC. Dessislava Ianeva, an analyst at Nexo, said: “The April FOMC meeting minutes are due Wednesday at 18:00 UTC and will be parsed for how persistently above-target inflation is being weighted against growth risks,” which is the axis most likely to move yields and, by extension, crypto beta.
Traders will also be watching whether WTI holds near $103.42 or resumes climbing, which can re-tighten inflation expectations. Post-minutes direction in 2-year and 10-year yields will be the immediate scoreboard. And any concrete update on spot bitcoin ETF flows would help validate whether the prior drawdown was driven by real allocation shifts or just risk-off positioning.
How I’d Trade the Macro-to-Crypto Hand-off Into the Minutes
I treat this as a macro hand-off, not a crypto story. The Senate vote may have reduced uncertainty at the edges, but the alignment of lower oil, lower yields, and higher Nasdaq futures is the tell that matters.
The threshold that matters is whether yields stay lower after the minutes. If that holds, the setup starts to look structural rather than narrative-driven, and the bounce has room to extend. If yields snap back higher or oil re-accelerates, this looks more like a sentiment catalyst than a fundamental shift, and the practical impact is limited to a short-lived relief bid in high-beta crypto.
