Bitcoin 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.
As BTC lost its overnight push above $68,500, BTC dumped below $67,000 at the start of US trading. Buyers quickly stepped in and brought a sharp pullback to $68,300, but the termination proved fleeting and prices quickly fell back to $67,000. Ether (ETH) followed a similar path, falling back below $2,000 and down about 1% over the past 24 hours.
Part of the cross-currents came from traditional markets. On the one hand, risk assets took a steadier tone as concerns about AI disruption 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, rose 1.9% in morning trade, suggesting some relief.
The broader Nasdaq was higher by 1.3% and the S&P 500 by 0.85%>
On the other hand, geopolitical jitters remain as traders increasingly prepare for a potential escalation between the US and Iran. Traders on prediction market Polymarket are now assigning more than 50% odds that the US will launch strikes against Iran by March 15, up from around 30% just a day ago.
Gold rose 2.5% to regain the $5,000 level, while silver rose 6%. U.S. crude rose more than 3% to over $64 a barrel. barrel, underscoring increased supply risks.
Despite the choppy crypto price action, crypto-related stocks were buoyant. Exchange giant Coinbase (COIN), stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and digital investment firm Galaxy (GLXY) were all 3%-5% higher.
Miners and AI-linked data centers such as Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) and IREN ( IREN ) fared further, with each posting gains of 5.5%.
