Crypto Market Plummets Amidst Geopolitical Tensions
In another tumultuous evening of trading on Saturday, Bitcoin experienced a significant drop, shedding another five thousand dollars to reach a multi-week low of approximately $61,000. The broader cryptocurrency market also felt the impact, with many alternative coins suffering double-digit declines. This downturn was largely attributed to heightened tensions between Iran and Israel.
The rollercoaster ride for BTC continued, with just 48 hours prior seeing its price comfortably above $70,000, even flirting with $71,000. However, the situation took a turn for the worse on Friday evening following statements from key figures at the US central bank indicating no imminent plans to lower interest rates.
Within minutes, Bitcoin's price plummeted by five to six thousand dollars, landing at $65,000. Interestingly, this decline coincided with a broader downturn across financial markets, with even gold experiencing a 4% drop.
Bitcoin managed a partial recovery on Saturday morning, briefly surpassing $67,000. However, escalating tensions between Iran and Israel triggered another steep decline, with the cryptocurrency hitting a multi-week low just above $61,000 on Bitstamp. This resulted in over $700 million in liquidations. While there has been some recovery since, with the price now above $64,000, uncertainties persist, particularly since it's the only market open for trading today.
Bitcoin's market capitalization has shrunk by approximately $130 billion since Friday, now standing at $1.270 trillion. Its dominance over alternative coins has increased by about 2% during this period. As is typical during sharp declines in Bitcoin's value, most alternative coins also suffered significant losses, with many experiencing double-digit declines over the past 48 hours.
While some altcoins have seen slight rebounds, the overall landscape remains bleak for a second consecutive day. Several prominent cryptocurrencies, including SOL, XRP, DOGE, TON, ADA, AVAX, SHIB, DOT, and ETH, are still deeply in the red.
The total crypto market capitalization fell from nearly $2.8 trillion on Friday morning to around $2.330 trillion by Saturday evening. While there has been a modest recovery of around $100 billion since then, the market remains down by 5% for the day.