Oil's 3% Surge Puts the Squeeze on Risk Assets, BTC Liquidates $185M in 60 Minutes

Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Monday, pushing Brent crude above $116 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, climbed to roughly $102 per barrel. For those keeping track at home, that's not exactly the "energy independence" vibe America was promised when everyone was bullish on Texas shale in 2019.

The latest rise comes as the US-Israel war on Iran entered its fifth week with no signs of abating. Several escalatory developments over the weekend fueled the surge. Five weeks in and somehow we're all still surprised that this thing isn't wrapped up—classic Middle East diplomacy, where "just a few more weeks" means "just a few more years."

President Donald Trump told the Financial Times he could possibly seize Kharg Island, the terminal that handles roughly 90% of Iran's crude exports. The US president struck a mixed tone on diplomacy with Iran, saying he was "pretty sure" of making a deal with Iran but conceding that talks could still collapse. Ah yes, the classic "pretty sure" of world peace—confidence level somewhere between "I definitely won't fomo at the top" and "definitely will."

Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker warned that Tehran would "set them on fire" when American forces arrived and promised consequences for US-allied nations in the region. Nothing says "diplomatic de-escalation" quite like threatening to light things on fire. The group chat between State Department officials must be absolutely unhinged right now.

The oil price surge is far from over, according