Bitcoin Drops as Ukraine-Russia Energy Ceasefire Fails to Take Hold — Update
By Joseph Wilkins and Kirk Maltais
Bitcoin fell below $83,000 on Monday after Russia continued strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, this despite a post from President Trump over the weekend declaring an "energy cease-fire" between the two.
The flagship cryptocurrency dropped 1.6%, to $82,311, after a weekend of geopolitical tumult saw Trump announce an unconfirmed energy truce between Ukraine and Russia, while conflict between Saudi Arabia and Houthi militants in Yemen continued to escalate.
But the ceasefire was quickly broken, with Russia striking Ukrainian infrastructure hours after Trump's post on Truth Social calling for a cease-fire. Ukraine is expected to retaliate, escalating the situation. The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia's strikes hit Ukrainian gas infrastructure, a power plant and a substation.
Persistently high energy prices are weighing on Trump's popularity ahead of the midterm elections, with the ongoing war in the Middle East also continuing to escalate. The threat of no future relief on energy prices has kept pressure on riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies.
"Higher energy costs can intensify inflationary pressures and reduce the likelihood of rapid interest rate cuts, limiting the appeal of riskier assets," said Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com.
Since consolidating above the $80,000 threshold, bitcoin has struggled to mount a further push beyond $87,000. A key test for crypto for the rest of 2026 rests on whether softer inflation and wage growth can bring down Treasury yields and cause the dollar to weaken, which would ease financial conditions for cryptocurrencies.
Investors are looking ahead to U.S. inflation data on Wednesday for clues on future interest-rate decisions.
"Wednesday's CPI is likely to show elevated inflation thanks to rising energy prices, and while there will be much scrutiny on the month-over-month numbers, the bottom line is that inflation is still well above the Fed's 2% target and that is a problem for the central bank," said Clark Bellin, chief investment officer at financial planning firm Bellwether Wealth.
Write to Joseph Wilkins at joseph.wilkins@wsj.com and Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
October 12, 2026 16:21 ET (20:21 GMT)
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