The cryptocurrency rally hit a wall on Friday as new headlines about a possible escalation in the Iran conflict abruptly cooled risk appetite across markets.
Among the developments, US Central Command confirmed that all six crew members aboard a refueling plane that crashed in Iraq on Thursday had died.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon is deploying a Marine expeditionary unit (believed to be 2,500 troops) to the Middle East, including forces attached to the USS Tripoli, as Iran steps up attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.
Bitcoin, after rising to around $74,000 early in the session, sharply retreated to $71,200 following the news, still maintaining a 1.9% gain over the past 24 hours. Ethereum Ether (ETH), Solana SOL (SOL) and They rose 3% over the same period, although they also retreated from their session highs.
US stocks gave up their early gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting declines of 0.4% to 0.5%. Gold, which often benefits from geopolitical turmoil, extended its recent decline by another 1%. Oil, on the other hand, rose more than $5 a barrel from its lowest levels of the day, now up nearly 2% for the session at $97.30.
“Optimism over geopolitical developments, including the easing of Russian sanctions, has been a factor” behind the price action, said Paul Howard, director at trading firm Wincent. “These headlines tend to have a short half-life, so [we] “We would expect this to be short-lived until we see concrete follow-up actions.”
Cryptocurrency-linked stocks continue to post mostly gains on the day. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) led the advance with a 10% jump, while Galaxy Digital (GLXY), Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine (BMNR) and AI data center-focused miner Cipher Mining (CIFR) rose between 5% and 7%.
