Bitcoin dips below $70,000 as US-Iran war brings back crypto volatility

The price of Bitcoin slid further Saturday, dropping to $68,000 after earlier this week breaking above $70,000 for the first time in a month.

Bitcoin’s price recently stood at $68,005, according to CoinGecko, a 3% drop over the past day. Over the past week, the coin has risen by more than 6%.

Its drop comes after exchange-traded fund investors reversed course and quickly redeemed their shares on Thursday and Friday, cashing out a total of $576.8 million, according to Farside Investors.

The rest of the week saw positive flows into the funds, and on Wednesday, the coin reached as high as $73,669.

What about the war?

Experts previously told DL News that a war between Iran and the US would lead investors to de-risk.

And when Israel and the US did finally bomb the Islamic Republic on February 28, Bitcoin, Ethereum and other major coins quickly dropped.

Though not for long. Bitcoin recovered and bolted above $70,000 midweek — a level not seen since the beginning of February.

The largest cryptocurrency’s volatility has surged too, and correlation with equities has spiked.

After a brutal October crash which wiped out $19 billion in leveraged crypto bets, the leading coin’s volatility has been damper compared to previous bear markets.

Another war in the Middle East seems to have brought back the cryptocurrency’s unpredictability — for now.

Other market movers

Elsewhere, Ethereum dropped about the same amount as Bitcoin over the past week. The second biggest coin was trading for $1,985 on Saturday morning in New York after jumping over $2,179 midweek.

XRP, the fifth biggest coin, dropped nearly 1% over a 24-hour period, and was priced at $1.36. The asset has seen a flurry of trading activity in recent weeks with via US ETFs.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin’s price stood at $68,005, after nearly dropping 1% over the past day.
• Ethereum was recently priced at $1,985, flat over a 24-hour period.

What we’re reading

• How Paraguay is using outlaw mining rigs to stack Bitcoin — DL News
• Farage aide ‘Posh George’ loses $655,000 betting on Iran invasion on Polymarket — DL News
• Why hasn’t ETH improved lives? — Milk Road
• How an Oil Crisis Becomes an Everything Crisis — Bloomberg
• How crypto is becoming a massive divorce problem — DL News

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.