Live Updates: Oil Drops on Hormuz Reopening Signals as Bitcoin Holds Near $86,000

Reporting concluded on September 22, 2026, at 8:45 PM. WTI crude oil declined to $90 following indications that Iran might open the Strait of Hormuz within a seven-day window.

Bessent Emerges as Leading Contender for AI Czar Position, Says Semafor

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is currently positioned as an early favorite to take on the role of the White House artificial intelligence administrator, according to Semafor, which attributes the information to three individuals close to the situation.

The publication noted that Bessent has already played a central part in shaping the AI strategy of the Trump administration, and his ongoing leadership of the Treasury department would not necessarily present a barrier to officially assuming the new artificial intelligence position.

United States and Iranian Representatives Conduct Multi-Hour Talks at UN, Trump States

During a conversation with journalists, President Trump mentioned that delegates from the United States and Iran held discussions on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly earlier today. The president added that the dialogue lasted for three hours and proceeded exceptionally well.

Even though Iranian authorities have not yet verified the discussion, the announcement appears to be impacting petroleum markets, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 2.8% down to $89.75 per barrel.

PayPal Experiences Slight Upswing Following Meta and Muse Integration

Users of PayPal can now complete purchases utilizing Muse, the artificial intelligence consumer agent created by Meta, the corporation announced recently.

PayPal shares advanced 1.2% in response to the announcement, though they continue to show a 21% decrease on a year-over-year basis.

Data Center Stocks Advance Amid Quiet Trading Conditions

While digital asset valuations and United States equities remain relatively steady during early afternoon activity, former bitcoin mining enterprises that now operate as AI infrastructure providers are experiencing broad gains.

Keel Infrastructure and Hut 8 lead the sector with approximate increases of 4%, whereas IREN, HIVE Digital, and Cipher Mining are posting advances closer to 2%.

President Trump Discusses Iran at United Nations, Stating a Choice Awaits

Reaffirming comments made via social media last week, President Trump addressed the United Nations and stated once more that he is nearing a decisive moment regarding whether to completely dismantle Iran or negotiate a settlement to conclude the conflict he initiated.

Crude oil values are climbing as Trump delivers his remarks, with WTI crude currently showing only a minor daily loss at $91.67 per barrel, having previously touched a low of $89.18.

Bitcoin is experiencing a slight pullback, currently changing hands at $85,700.

Kalshi Applies to Introduce Leverage on Event Contracts to Attract Institutional Participants

Kalshi Klear, the internal clearing entity for the prediction market, has filed a regulatory application requesting authorization to supply leverage for event contracts, a measure designed to attract heightened institutional liquidity to the venue.

The availability of leverage would permit traders to borrow capital in order to establish larger positions than their available cash balances would otherwise permit, thereby amplifying both prospective profits and potential losses.

This modification could resolve a major obstacle for Wall Street institutions evaluating prediction markets, as traditional financial players looking at the space have widely regarded leverage as an essential capability required for large participants to engage.

Kalshi must still successfully navigate the regulatory evaluation procedure before introducing leveraged execution.

SoFi Transitions $25 Billion Card Portfolio to Stablecoin Settlement While Equities Decline 37% Year-to-Date

SoFi has initiated the use of its proprietary SoFiUSD stablecoin to clear transactions associated with its $25 billion debit and credit card operations operating across the Mastercard payments ecosystem.

This transition integrates blockchain-powered settlement into everyday card transactions without necessitating that merchants accept or retain stablecoins directly. SoFiUSD is distributed by SoFi Bank, a federally chartered American financial institution, and maintains a one-to-one redemption value against the dollar.

SoFi indicated that it is likewise holding discussions with major American merchants and intends to investigate cross-border transactions and remittance services alongside Mastercard.

The rollout takes place amidst a 37% year-to-date contraction in SoFi equity values, despite ongoing operational expansion. Adjusted net revenue for the second quarter expanded by 40% to reach $1.2 billion, and customer accounts climbed to 15.8 million, though elevated Treasury yields, valuation concerns, and increased lending exposure have negatively affected investor sentiment.

Bitcoin Maintains Position Near $86,000 as Equities Open with Modest Increases

Market conditions remain relatively calm following the volatility seen on Monday.

Roughly twenty minutes after the opening of the United States trading session, the Nasdaq advanced 0.4% and the S&P 500 rose 0.1%.

Petroleum prices remain under downward pressure as the United Nations General Assembly sessions commence, with President Trump scheduled to deliver remarks shortly.

Among outperforming technology equities, SanDisk climbed 6.7% and Google advanced 1.9%.

Within the S&P 500, banking institutions continue to lag behind as the new Federal Reserve interest rate tightening cycle flattens the yield curve, which subsequently compresses lending profit margins. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all declined by approximately 1%.

Bitcoin trades precisely at $86,000, registering a gain of over 1% throughout the preceding twenty-four hours, though down roughly 1.5% compared to the peaks above $87,000 observed on Monday evening.

Iranian Officials Refute Claims of Agreements to Open Hormuz

Representatives from Iran have dismissed statements originating from Kyodo and Reuters suggesting that the nation is prepared to lift the Strait of Hormuz blockade if the United States terminates its restrictions, according to LiveSquawk citing the Fars News Agency.

WTI futures valuations have rebounded to $90.20 after dropping to an early session low of $89.16, based on figures provided by TradingView.

Bitcoin changes hands just above the $86,000 threshold, reflecting a 0.6% reduction since midnight UTC.

Friday $14 Billion Bitcoin Options Expiration Represents the Second Phase, Says Ledn

Approximately $14 billion worth of bitcoin options are set to expire on Deribit this Friday, representing the largest single expiration date recorded this year. Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of the lending platform Ledn—which has issued upward of $10 billion in bitcoin-secured credit since 2018—suggests that the most consequential development has already transpired.

Quarterly expirations like the one in September function as two-part occurrences, he explained.

The initial phase unfolded last week when derivatives linked to the BlackRock IBIT fund expired in what he describes as the largest expiration event on record for that exchange-traded fund. The order book skewed heavily toward call options—contracts that generate payouts when valuations exceed a predetermined threshold—with the maximum pain point, where the greatest volume of contracts expires worthless, sitting near $40 per share. Bitcoin’s advance through the $80,000 mark pushed a substantial block of those call options past their respective strike prices.

Market makers who distributed those contracts find themselves on the losing side as valuations increase, prompting them to hedge by acquiring the underlying asset. For IBIT, this entails purchasing fund shares, and generating new shares of a spot bitcoin ETF necessitates acquiring bitcoin directly, thereby transmitting the hedging pressure to the cryptocurrency itself.

The Deribit options book for Friday inherits that exact configuration. Di Bartolomeo highlights significant concentrations of call contracts at $85,000 and $100,000 as the critical thresholds where this dynamic repeats, with bitcoin currently trading above the first of those levels.

Oil Declines as Iran Indicates Potential Reopening of Hormuz

Iran could potentially open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States moderates its military posture and terminates its port embargo, based on numerous reports referencing a high-ranking Iranian official.

Petroleum values subsequently retreated, with WTI crude declining by upwards of 2.5% to $89 per barrel, roughly 15% beneath its September peak level. Brent crude declined beneath $98 per barrel.

A sustained reduction of tensions within the Middle East could act as a favorable catalyst for risk-oriented assets, as reduced energy costs alleviate inflationary pressures and worries concerning additional central bank rate increases.

Bitcoin is stabilizing near $86,000 following the strong upward movement on Monday, which propelled the asset to an intraday peak of $87,300. Gold remains largely unchanged over the prior twenty-four-hour period at approximately $4,336 per ounce.