U.S. military launches a night raid on the Strait of Hormuz, triggering broad declines across the cryptocurrency market and sharp surges in crude oil prices.

US Central Command confirmed that the U.S. military attacked two Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday (early morning, August 31 Beijing time). This marks the first time the U.S. has publicly admitted to launching an attack on Iran since late July. Shortly after, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on social media in the early hours of August 31 that Iran had fired missiles at U.S. military bases. In a statement, the IRGC said the attack on Larak Island killed and injured multiple people including civilians, adding that "the enemy’s aggression against Larak Island will definitely be retaliated against, and the aggressor will definitely be punished." Affected by the news, Bitget data shows WTI crude oil opened with a nearly 2% gap-up on Monday, while Brent crude oil returned to the $90 per barrel threshold, rising 2.3% intraday. Spot gold opened with a gap-down. According to HTX data, the entire crypto market fell: Bitcoin dropped to $77,000 and is currently trading at $77,399.02, down 1.7% in the past hour.