Bitcoin slips below $69,000 as oil rebounds on fading Middle East peace hopes
Crypto prices and risk assets remain at the mercy of macro headlines for now, one analyst said.
What to know:
- Bitcoin slipped more than 3% Thursday with ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA losing 4%-5% as fading hopes of Middle East de-escalation weighed on risk sentiment.
- Rising crude oil prices remain in the spotlight as macro headlines drive markets for now, an analyst warns.
- Crypto stocks COIN, CRCL, and MSTR were down 3%-4%, with miners tied to AI infrastructure nursing steeper losses.
Bitcoin slipped below $69,000 on Thursday as a broader pullback in risk assets gathered pace, with early optimism around Iran-U.S. peace and easing Middle East tensions fading.
The largest crypto lost more than 3% from its overnight high above $71,000, while major altcoins ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana’s SOL (SOL) and Cardano’s ADA (ADA) plunged 4%-5% during the same period.
Oil prices remain the barometer for the broader market. Crude oil futures rose about 4%, reversing earlier declines and reinforcing concerns about inflation and supply disruptions tied to the Iran conflict.
U.S. stocks were at session lows just after noon on the East Coast, led by the Nasdaq’s 1.4% decline. Bond yields were sharply higher: the U.S. 10-year Treasury up 7 basis points to 4.40%, and the 10-year German Bund up 10.5 basis points to 3.06%.
Notably, all Magnificent Seven stocks are now all off double digit percentages from their all-time highs, with NVIDIA (NVDA) down 18%, Meta (META) 30%, Amazon (AMZN) 20%, Alphabet (GOOG) 19%, Microsoft (MSFT) 34%, Tesla (TSLA) 25% and Apple (APPL) down 14%.
“Looking ahead, the near-term trajectory will likely remain tied to macro developments,” said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group.
