Bitcoin finally came through the door.
The biggest cryptocurrency broke above $72,000 on Thursday, its highest level since before the February 5 crash and the first clean move above the $70,000 ceiling that had rejected it three times in the past month.
It traded at $72,180 in Asian afternoon hours on Thursday, up 5.9% over the past 24 hours and 5.4% on the week, as a combination of easing war fears, strong ETF flows and a broader equity pullback pulled back risk appetite in the market.
The rally was broad. Ether climbed 7.5% to $2,114, reclaiming $2,000 with conviction for the first time since late February. Dogecoin rose 7.5% to $0.095. Solana added 5.3% to $89.91. XRP rose 4.2% to $1.41 and BNB rose 3% to $650. WhiteBIT Coin jumped 5.6%. The only notable laggard was Tron, up just 1.4%.
The trigger was a shift in global risk sentiment. Asian shares rose for the first time since the Iran war broke out, with South Korea’s benchmark rising 11% after its biggest-ever drop in the previous session.
Wall Street had led the way after economic data eased inflation worries, although the recovery looked tentative with US and European futures falling on Thursday morning.
However, the conflict itself is still unresolved. Tehran is still targeting Israel and the Gulf states. US and Israeli forces continued to attack Iran, including sinking an Iranian warship in international waters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operations could last “six, could be eight, could be three” weeks. Trump said “we’re doing very well on the war front” and that the United States has “great support.”
But markets have moved past the initial shock and into pricing mode. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz appears to be stabilizing with US tanker escorts underway. Oil reduced its peak in the early week.
And the worst-case scenario of an uncontrolled regional escalation looks less likely with each passing day without a dramatic expansion of the conflict.
