Bitcoin pulled back from Sunday’s highs as renewed military conflict between Iran and Israel sent Asian shares, including South Korea’s Kospi index, sharply lower.
The leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at around $62,900 at 4:00 UTC, after hitting a high of $63,776 late Sunday, according to data source CoinDesk.
WTI crude futures rose more than 3% to $93.50 as Iran and Israel traded airstrikes, ending the latest fragile ceasefire that had calmed energy markets. US President Donald Trump urged restraint and said he has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to retaliate”.
“I’m going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” he told Axios in a telephone interview. “Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one.”
Still, Asian stock markets took a beating, with South Korea’s KOSPI falling more than 6.8%, prompting a temporary trading halt amid volatile conditions. Japan’s Nikkei index also fell over 3 percent.
The recent rise in oil prices could only add to the upward momentum in US Treasuries, which rose on Friday after the release of the monthly US jobs report. Hardening of sovereign interest rates typically increases demand for dollars and dollar equivalents and weighs riskier assets like cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin has already taken a beating for several reasons, including Strategy’s BTC sell-off, the AI stock frenzy, and the capital exodus from spot bitcoin ETFs. Prices fell nearly 14% last week, briefly breaking through the $60,000 mark.
Volatility could remain high this week as geopolitical tensions, combined with key indicators such as US inflation and major IPOs such as SpaceX and Anthropic, are likely to affect liquidity dynamics.
