Bitcoin Plummets as Middle East Tensions Fuel Oil Shock and Inflation Fears

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<a href="https://minority-mindset.com/brent">Oil</a> shock and inflation fears drag down <a href="https://jpygbp.com/btc-usd/">bitcoin</a>

What to know:

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

As a researcher tracking the cryptocurrency market, I’ve observed a recent dip in Bitcoin’s price. It fell over 3.5%, dropping below $67,000, largely due to increased tensions in the Middle East. This instability led investors to move away from riskier assets like Bitcoin and seek the safety of U.S. dollars.

With tensions rising, Iran has warned it might block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for about 20% of the world’s oil.

Tanker shipping costs for crude oil and liquefied natural gas have jumped significantly after attacks in the area caused some companies to pause operations. Brent crude oil prices have also risen sharply, increasing by over 13% in the last five days, and freight rates for large oil tankers have hit all-time highs.

Financial markets are reacting strongly. The dollar has gained almost 1%, and interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds are increasing as investors sell off riskier investments like cryptocurrencies. This shift suggests concerns that rising fuel prices could lead to a resurgence of inflation, potentially forcing central banks to act.

Bitcoin nearly hit $70,000 earlier this week, but its price dropped when the recent conflict began. Even with the situation worsening, cryptocurrency prices haven’t moved much overall.

The recent U.S. action involving Iran caused the prices of bitcoin and ether to fall, resulting in around $300 million in liquidations of leveraged positions. However, analysts at QCP Capital noted that this reduction in leverage was relatively calm compared to similar events earlier in the year.

Analysts noted a quick jump in short-term market uncertainty, but it appears traders had already anticipated potential risks over the weekend.

QCP Capital analysts point out that when the U.S. last struck Iran (in June of last year, also on a weekend), Bitcoin’s price initially dropped below $100,000 before recovering on Monday and eventually reaching $123,000 a few weeks later. Although this current attack is much larger in scale, the initial price movements suggest a similar pattern might be unfolding.

Trading activity indicates that buyers are preparing for Bitcoin to potentially rise above $70,000. This suggests investors expect the price to recover this month after a recent significant drop.

The situation around the Strait of Hormuz is still the main point of tension, with Iran and the U.S. disagreeing on whether it’s currently blocked. President Trump has predicted any conflict would likely last between four and five weeks. Please remain vigilant.

What to Watch

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead”.

Token Events

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead”.

Conferences

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead”.

  • Nothing scheduled.

Market Movements

  • BTC is down 3% from 4 p.m. ET Monday at $66,918.56 (24hrs: +0.57%)
  • ETH is down 4.04% at $1,959.34 (24hrs: unchanged)
  • CoinDesk 20 is down 3.45% at 1,927.49 (24hrs: +0.59%)
  • Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 1 bps at 2.86%
  • BTC funding rate is at -0.0009% (-1.0162% annualized) on Binance

  • DXY is up 0.89% at 99.25
  • Gold futures are down 0.30% at $5,278.60
  • Silver futures are down 4.65% at $84.18
  • Nikkei 225 closed down 3.06% at 56,279.05
  • Hang Seng closed down 1.12% at 25,768.08
  • FTSE 100 is down 2.76% at 10,478.54
  • Euro Stoxx 50 is down 3.49% at 5,777.18
  • DJIA closed on Monday down 0.15% at 48,904.78
  • S&P 500 closed unchanged at 6,881.62
  • Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.36% at 22,748.86
  • S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.59% at 34,541.30
  • S&P 40 Latin America closed down 0.82% at 3,741.78
  • U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 9 bps at 4.05%
  • E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 1.83% at 6,762.25
  • E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 2.30% at 24,448.00
  • E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 1.74% at 48,104.00

Bitcoin Stats

  • BTC Dominance: 58.81%
  • Ether to bitcoin ratio: 0.029284
  • Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 977 EH/s
  • Hashprice (spot): $29.14
  • Total Fees: 2.65 BTC / $179,647
  • CME Futures Open Interest: 104,220 BTC
  • BTC priced in gold: 15.8 oz
  • BTC vs gold market cap: 4.46%

Technical Analysis

  • BTC/USD weekly remains technically constrained below the 200-week EMA, with a weekly relative strength index (RSI) of 27.89 and a lack of bullish divergence confirming a sideways grind between $65,000 and $70,000.

Crypto Equities

  • Coinbase Global (COIN): closed on Monday at $185.24 (+5.34%), –5.64% at $174.80 in pre-market
  • Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $21.73 (+5.54%), –5.66% at $20.50
  • MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $9.45 (+5.70%), –4.97% at $8.98
  • Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $16.43 (+0.86%), –5.11% at $15.59
  • Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $16.49 (–2.83%), –3.76% at $15.87
  • CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $10.55 (+6.03%), –4.83% at $10.04
  • Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $10.47 (+2.65%)
  • CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI): closed at $40.43 (+1.38%), –4.23% at $38.72
  • Circle Internet Group (CRCL): closed at $96.14 (+15.22%), –6.57% at $89.82
  • Bullish (BLSH): closed at $33.81 (+7.71%), –2.69% at $32.90

Crypto Treasury Companies

  • Strategy (MSTR): closed at $137.65 (+6.29%), –4.42% at $131.56
  • Strive Asset Management (ASST): closed at $8.73 (+9.95%), –4.24% at $8.36
  • Sharplink (SBET): closed at $7.39 (+8.36%), –5.41% at $6.99
  • Upexi (UPXI): closed at $0.88 (+32.73%)
  • Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.12 (–0.88%)

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

  • Daily net flow: $458.2 million
  • Cumulative net flows: $55.24 billion
  • Total BTC holdings ~ 1.27 million

Spot ETH ETFs

  • Daily net flow: $38.7 million
  • Cumulative net flows: $11.67 billion
  • Total ETH holdings ~ 5.67 million

While You Were Sleeping

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has stated she knows nothing about a meme cryptocurrency built on Solana, which quickly lost three-quarters of its value after initially being worth $27.7 million. She denies any connection to the coin.

Following an Israeli strike, explosions occurred in both Tehran and Beirut. Global financial markets reacted negatively, fearing a longer-term impact on worldwide energy supplies due to attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel. Reports also indicate drone attacks targeted the U.S. embassy in Riyadh.

Following drone attacks and increased Iranian retaliation, the U.S. has temporarily closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The U.S. is also advising all American citizens to leave 14 countries in the Middle East right away.

U.S. stock futures are down, while oil prices are increasing. European and Asian markets also experienced declines as the conflict in the Middle East continues to worsen, now entering its fourth day.

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2026-03-03 15:43