Bitcoin Slides Amid US-Iran Escalation, Faces Final Hurdle Before New Highs

The cryptocurrency market saw significant declines on Sunday due to renewed hostilities between the US and Iran. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin all fell in price, with nearly $400 million liquidated from the market in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin's open interest slipped 0.83% over the past day, while its long/short ratio declined among both retail and derivatives traders. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index showed 'greed' sentiment prevailing in the market.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted that whales accumulated nearly $3 billion in Bitcoin over the past week, signaling continued interest from large investors. Another analyst, Michaël van de Poppe, highlighted Bitcoin's liquidity sweep at $77,000 followed by gaining $78,000 as support on the hourly chart.

Van De Poppe stated that 'it's now facing the final hurdle before it will start attacking the highs again,' with a target of $82,700. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.61 trillion, down 0.90% over the last 24 hours.