US-Iran Conflict Sinks Bitcoin Below $77K Amid Oil Price Surge
Bitcoin's price dropped below $77,000 on Monday morning as tensions escalated between the United States and Iran. The decline came after US forces struck two Iranian launchers on the island of Larak, prompting retaliatory strikes against military targets in Jordan.
The sudden downturn in the market led to a surge in liquidations, with over $200 million worth of positions being wiped out within an hour. This was largely driven by a near-3% increase in Brent crude oil prices to over $90 per barrel, reviving concerns about energy-driven inflation.
Asian stock markets also reacted negatively to the news, with Japan's Nikkei falling by around 2%. The Japanese yen weakened against the US dollar, hitting 160. Bitcoin and Ethereum were not immune to the market downturn, with BTC dropping over $2,000 in value and ETH plummeting from over $2,500 to under $2,400.
The sharp move south was also attributed to a large transfer of 5,100 BTC (worth almost $400 million) by Wintermute to Binance, likely indicating an intention to sell. This follows a similar action taken by the market maker last week, which resulted in another leg down for BTC and altcoins.