Bitcoin tops $80,000 for the first time in 101 days as U.S. unveils new Iran sanctions push

Huo Xing Finance reported that on Monday local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bentsen said Washington will roll out a new sanctions initiative dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast," aimed at further cutting Iran off from the global economic system. Bentsen warned that countries and companies continuing to do business with Iran could face the risk of U.S. sanctions. The move comes as U.S.-Iran tensions have dragged on for nearly six months. The United States has stepped up pressure through military actions and extended economic sanctions, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz or curbing Iran's nuclear program. U.S. equities finished Monday mixed, according to BIT (bit.com) data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.26%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.28% and the Nasdaq declined 0.76%. Semiconductor and storage names led losses: SK Hynix (SKHY.O) sank 4.9%, Micron Technology (MU.O) slid 5.8%, and SanDisk (SNDK.O) dropped 6.4%. NVIDIA (NVDA.O) and Intel (INTC.O) each fell 3%. In crypto markets, Bitcoin briefly touched $80,000 last night for the first time in 101 days. The token is up nearly 30% over the past week and was last trading at $77,898, up 1.25% over the past 24 hours.