Oil Rises as US Strikes Iranian Oil Tankers, BTC Falls Amid Uncertainty

U.S. Central Command (Centcom) confirmed striking three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, in an escalation of the U.S.-Iran war. The attack targeted M/T Downy, M/T Stark 1, and M/T Kylo near Kharg Island, Jask, and in the Gulf of Oman, respectively.

'If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost, taking out three of yours,' Admiral Brad Cooper said following the attack.

Oil prices are up 1% on both sides of the Atlantic, with the barrel of WTI changing hands at $92.72. Prices have gained over 6% in the first seven days of September, extending the recovery from the early July low of around $70.

BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, traded near $79,700 as of this writing, down nearly 1% since midnight UTC, according to CoinDesk. Prices moved back and forth around the $80,000 over the weekend. Late Sunday, Liquid Network, used by exchanges as a settlement layer, faced a $320 million exploit.