The original cryptocurrency rose more than 3.5%, surpassing $70,200 before paring some gains. It stood just under $70,000 as of 10:35 a.m. in London. Ether, the second-largest digital asset, rose as much as 5.1%. Roughly $273 million of bearish bets were unwound for cryptocurrencies in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass data.
Trump on Sunday issued increasingly aggressive threats on social media, saying the US would bring “Hell” to Iran if it didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway that has been largely closed since the start of the war. Trump suggested that attacks on Iranian power plants could start as soon as Tuesday if the Strait isn’t opened.
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“Many Bitcoin shorts were initiated over the weekend, with the Middle East tensions rising again after Trump’s comments,” said Damien Loh, chief investment officer at Ericsenz Capital. He pointed to holidays in Europe and Asia on Monday as adding to the volatility amid low liquidity.
“Bitcoin is no longer a reliable proxy for overall risk sentiment, and when markets opened today, the switching of shorts into equity futures and the covering of some positions caused a squeeze higher in illiquid conditions.”
Regional mediators have been pushing for a 45-day ceasefire as a last-ditch effort to bring the war to a close, Axios reported Monday.
Oil prices pared gains earlier in the day, trading below $108 a barrel. Gold was up about 0.5% to more than $4,700 an ounce. S&P 500 futures were up about 0.4%, while similar contracts on Hyperliquid — where investors can trade tokenised contracts tracking other assets — gained 1.2%.
For weeks, Bitcoin has remained stuck roughly between $65,000 and $75,000. It has been unable to shake consistent downward pressure since a selloff in October, leaving it down about 45% from its peak above $126,000 that month. Yet other than a dip when the US and Israel initiated a bombing campaign against Iran at the end of February, the cryptocurrency has remained relatively stable compared with other assets.
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Flows into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have remained resilient, seeing $22.3 million in net inflows last week.
“Bitcoin’s rise appears driven by steady spot demand, with ETF flows remaining firm,” said Gracie Lin, chief executive officer of crypto exchange OKX SG. “Price action remains orderly and funding is contained, suggesting the move is being led by incremental allocation rather than leverage.”
She added that demand could weaken if Bitcoin breaks below a support level of $65,000 to $66,000.
