bitcoin I can’t seem to pick a direction, swinging wildly in the early hours of Wednesday’s US session with dips quickly bought and bounces erased just as quickly.
Losing its overnight momentum above $68,500, BTC fell below $67,000 in early US trading. Buyers quickly intervened, sparking a strong rally to $68,300, but the bounce proved fleeting and prices quickly fell to $67,000. Ether (ETH) followed a similar path, falling back below $2,000 and down about 1% in the last 24 hours.
Part of the countercurrents came from traditional markets. On the one hand, a steadier tone in risk assets came as concerns about the disruption of artificial intelligence in the technology sector cooled. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV), a proxy for the software sector that had been under pressure in recent weeks, bounced 1.9% in morning trading, suggesting some relief.
The broader Nasdaq rose 1.3% and the S&P 500 rose 0.85%>
On the other hand, geopolitical nerves have returned as traders increasingly prepare for a possible escalation between the United States and Iran. Traders on the Polymarket prediction market now assign a more than 50% chance that the United States will launch attacks against Iran before March 15, up from 30% just a day ago.
Gold rose 2.5% to reclaim the $5,000 level, while silver rose 6%. US crude oil jumped more than 3% to above $64 a barrel, underscoring higher supply risks.
Despite choppy cryptocurrency price action, cryptocurrency-related stocks were rebounding. Exchange giant Coinbase (COIN), stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), and digital asset investment firm Galaxy (GLXY) rose between 3% and 5%.
AI-linked miners and data centers such as Riot Platforms (RIOT) and IREN (IREN) fared better, each posting gains of 5.5%.
