The US military launched another round of strikes against Iranian military targets on July 15, aiming to degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin’s response was swift and predictable: a 2% drop to around $62,000, with roughly $350 million in liquidations rippling across digital assets in the same session.
What happened in the Strait
US Central Command confirmed the strikes were designed to weaken Iranian military capabilities that have been disrupting one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. More than one-fifth of all seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a chokepoint with outsized influence on global energy prices, trade flows, and investor sentiment.
The latest military action follows a pattern that’s been escalating since late June 2026. Iran-attributed attacks on maritime vessels had been mounting for weeks, effectively killing what was already a fragile ceasefire. President Trump declared that ceasefire “over” before authorizing the fresh wave of strikes. Earlier operations in late June and early July had already targeted missile sites and radar installations.
The crypto market fallout
