(March 3): Bitcoin dropped after briefly surpassing US$70,000 on Monday (March 2), dragged lower along with other risk assets by concerns about a lengthy conflict in the Middle East.
Bitcoin fell as much as 2.3% to US$67,834 in early European trading and was around US$68,100 by 8.10am in London. Crypto markets across the board were in the red for the day as investors fled riskier assets, with tokens like Ether and Solana declining.
Investors continued to seek out less risky assets after the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran over the weekend. Iran stepped up attacks on the US and its allies in the Middle East, threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway.
Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto, described the moves as a normal cooling-off period.
“Bitcoin is cooling off after a strong rally yesterday, which occurred on high volumes,” Kala said. He noted that Bitcoin has been trading in a range of between US$65,000 and US$70,000 since early February, meaning any move above that band will invite profit-taking.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index tumbled as much as 2.8% in the worst two-day slump since last April. South Korea’s Kospi Index, the world’s second-best-performing stock market this year, sank as much as 6.9% — the most since August 2024.
See also: Bitcoin rallies past US$73,000 while US ETFs see inflows
Oil, meanwhile, is spiking in anticipation of the worst market disruption since 2022.
Bitcoin’s recent moves in response to geopolitical shocks have undercut the “digital gold” narrative that some crypto advocates have long promoted. Bullion staged a four-day rally before trading sideways on Tuesday.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
