Oil Price Surge Sends Bitcoin Prices Tumbling
Bitcoin's price took a hit on Thursday after escalating tensions in the Middle East sent oil prices soaring above $105 per barrel. The largest cryptocurrency had been trading at around $77,208 before slipping as low as $76,748 - a decline of over 2% in just one day.
The renewed hostilities between Iran and the US have put pressure on the global economy, driving up oil prices and increasing the likelihood of interest rate hikes. This is bad news for Bitcoin, which has historically performed well in low-interest-rate environments.
Despite this, Bitcoin had enjoyed a strong run in August when the US Treasury announced plans to double its liquidity-support buyback operations, a move that hurt the dollar but benefited non-yielding assets like gold and Bitcoin.