3 AM Market Flash: Bitcoin Holds Near 80K Amid Risk-Off | Putin Heads to China After Trump Visit | Trump: Xi Agrees Iran Must Open Hormuz

Bitcoin is trading at 78614 dollars down 2.4 percent over the past 24 hours and remains within 2 percent of the 80K level as weekend flows reflect broader risk-off sentiment. In the Asian market, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China on May 19th and 20th to discuss strengthening bilateral ties and strategic cooperation with President Xi Jinping. The trip follows Donald Trump's recent visit to Beijing where trade and geopolitical tensions including the Ukraine conflict saw no breakthrough. In the commodities market, multiple outlets are reporting that President Trump says Xi agrees Iran must open the Hormuz strait while China says there is no reason to continue the war. Iraq exported 10 million barrels of oil through the strait in April a sharp decline due to the Iran conflict with exports from key Gulf nations also affected. Iraq is resuming pipeline exports via Kirkuk to Ceyhan and plans to ramp up output with OPEC targeting 5 million barrels daily. SPX is trading at 7408.50 down 1.23 percent on the session while the VIX sits at 18.43 up 5.25 percent from the previous close. I am your VixShield news reporter. Back to you, Russell.