NEW DELHI — Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in two weeks Monday as escalating concerns over the U.S.-Iran conflict pressured risk assets and dragged down the broader cryptocurrency market.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to $76,711 before recovering slightly to trade at $76,985.11 as of 2:25 p.m. Major digital assets, including Ether and Solana, also traded lower.
Nearly $500 million in long positions were liquidated within about 15 minutes during early Asian trading hours, according to multiple reports.
U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded more than $1 billion in outflows last week, traders said. It was the first such occurrence since late January.
A surge in oil prices and bond yields pushed Asian equities lower and prompted traders to move away from riskier assets.
Market sentiment was also hit by continued uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump warned that the “clock is ticking” for Iran to reach an agreement, adding to pressure on speculative assets.
Crude prices rose about 3% Monday as hopes for a peace agreement weakened. Brent crude climbed as much as 2.37%, or $2.60, to $111.86 per barrel after a fresh wave of drone strikes targeted the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Analysts said markets are closely watching whether bitcoin can regain momentum above key resistance levels near $80,000. They said ETF outflows and macroeconomic uncertainty have created short-term pressure, though institutional interest in digital assets remains intact.
Market participants said bitcoin has a strong support zone between $73,000 and $75,000, with immediate resistance near $77,000.
Analysts urged investors to avoid chasing sudden rallies and instead focus on portfolio allocation, liquidity management and fundamentally strong assets.
Asian equity markets were mostly lower Monday. Japan’s Nikkei fell about 1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined more than 1%, while South Korea’s KOSPI gained nearly 1%. (Source: IANS)
