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Rising oil prices are shaking global markets, but the U.S. is largely insulated and bitcoin seems to be riding the wave alongside Wall Street.

Oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel amid conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel, pressuring global markets but leaving bitcoin largely unchanged around $67,000.
Bitcoin is increasingly trading like a U.S. risk asset, buoyed by the relative resilience of Wall Street, America’s status as a net oil exporter and growing institutional access through spot ETFs.
While U.S. energy independence may delay the impact of higher oil prices at the gas pump, a prolonged conflict and sustained oil spike could eventually feed into American inflation and consumer costs.

The week-long war between Iran, the U.S., and Israel has pushed oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic past $100 a barrel, threatening to inject inflation into the global economy. Asian markets are taking a hit, bond yields are climbing, and yet bitcoin
BTC
$68,953.70
has barely budged, hovering around $67,000, where it was 24 hours ago.

A likely reason? Bitcoin's strong links to Wall Street. Since the conflict started last week, U.S. stocks have held up relatively well compared to Asian and European equities, probably benefiting from America’s position as a net oil exporter. Bitcoin, which closely tracks U.S. tech and Nasdaq moves, seems to have caught some of that same resilience.

"The United States is not meaningfully exposed to oil from Iran, or, more broadly, the Middle East," JP Morgan's Executive Director Kriti Gupta and Global Investment Strategist Justin Beimann said in a note to clients Friday, noting the relative strength of the U.S. stocks.

They explained that the U.S. imports oil mostly from Canada and Mexico, and just 4% from Saudi Arabia, and that it is now the world's largest net oil exporter. This means the U.S. is largely insulated from disruptions to oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, while China and other Asian countries, such as India and South Korea, are most affected.

Nasdaq plans to work with Kraken to distribute tokenized versions of public stocks globally as the exchange pushes to bring blockchain infrastructure into traditional markets.

Kraken will distribute one-to-one tokenized versions of public company stocks to customers in Europe and other international markets.
Nasdaq says token holders would retain the same governance rights as traditional shareholders, including voting and dividends.
The initiative builds on Nasdaq’s proposal to the SEC to allow tokenized versions of listed stocks and ETFs to trade alongside traditional shares.

Nasdaq said it will work with crypto exchange Kraken to develop a system for issuing and trading tokenized versions of stocks and other exchange-traded products, according to a press release.

Under the plan, tokenized shares would give investors the same corporate governance rights as ordinary stockholders, including voting in proxy ballots and receiving dividends. Nasdaq said the initiative will focus heavily on making corporate actions, such as dividend payments and proxy voting, more efficient by automating parts of the process through blockchain technology. The platform is expected to launch in early 2027.

Kraken will act as a distribution partner for the project. Through the arrangement, one-to-one tokenized versions of public company shares would be made available to Kraken’s customers outside the United States, particularly in Europe and other international markets.

The effort builds on a proposal Nasdaq submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September seeking approval to allow tokenized versions of its listed stocks and exchange-traded products to trade alongside traditional shares on the exchange.
In that proposal, both the tokenized and conventional versions would be settled through the Depository Trust to ensure they remain interchangeable.

Last week exchange operator ICE made a strategic investment in OKX, valuing the exchange at $25 billion as it signed a deal to offer new tokenized stocks and crypto futures products.

Separately, Nasdaq also announced a partnership with Boerse Stuttgart Group’s tokenized settlement platform Seturion to connect its European trading venues to infrastructure designed to support trading and settlement of tokenized securities.