Bitcoin has now fallen from the $70,000 level three times since the Feb. 5 drop as Wednesday’s Asian session found the market back at $67,600, according to market data from CoinDesk, after another failed attempt earlier in the week.
BTC was trading at $67,612 in Asian morning hours on Wednesday, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours but up 3.4% on the week as the post-strike recovery continued. Ether fell 2.2% to $1,957, recovering some of its bounce, but was still up 2.6% in seven days. BNB was a quiet outperformer, up 5.2% on the week to $629.
The damage was concentrated further down the board. Dogecoin fell 2.9% in 24 hours and is down 3.9% for the week. Cardano fell 4.2% on the day and 3.5% in seven days. Solana lost 0.8% to $85.16 and remains the worst weekly performer at -4.2%, still carrying the weight of Saturday’s sell-off. XRP remained relatively stable, falling 1.3% to $1.35 with a modest weekly gain of 1.5%.
The pattern across the board is the same. Most major currencies recovered from weekend lows but were unable to hold Tuesday’s highs, leaving the market in a holding pattern as it waits for the Iran situation to clear up and the traditional Monday market reaction to stabilize.
“BTC’s rebound to $70,000 looks like a classic shock, flow, rebuild move. Much of the weekend selling was forced and liquidity was tight, so the rebound can be quick once the pressure is lifted,” Wojciech Kaszycki, CSO of BTCS SA, said in an email. “After BTC broke back above $70,000, the real signal is not the price increase. It’s whether ETF inflows remain stable this week.”
FxPro chief analyst Alex Kuptsikevich noted that Tuesday’s rejection “forces us to consider a drop to $63,000 as a working scenario” if the upper limit continues to hold.
The macroeconomic context does not help. Asian stocks suffered heavy selling on Wednesday, with South Korean stocks posting their biggest two-day drop since 2008, as the conflict with Iran continued to rattle investors.
Technology shares in the MSCI Asia Pacific index fell 4%, dragging down Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The Indian rupee fell to a record low due to the oil price impact. Gold rose, dragging silver with it for the first time this week.
Oil remains the key variable. Brent rose again on Wednesday despite the United States announcing plans to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the weekend attacks.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump floated an insurance plan for oil tankers, but did not provide details. The longer the strait remains disrupted, the more energy prices influence inflation expectations, pushing rate cuts further away, tightening the liquidity environment that drives risk assets.
“We believe Bitcoin is an emerging reserve asset,” Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, said in comments to CoinDesk. “Many people just can’t fully accept this yet, because it is easier to invest in gold, which has been around for many years, than in Bitcoin, which is still young and risky.”
Chen pointed to the broader disappointment in crypto markets following previous declines, noting that “Bitcoin’s current decline is largely driven by this disappointment, especially against the backdrop of rising stocks, gold, silver, and stock indices hitting new highs.”
