Bitcoin has now fallen from the $70,000 level three times since the February 5 crash, with Wednesday’s Asian session taking the market back to $67,600 after another failed attempt earlier in the week.
BTC was trading at $67,612 on Wednesday morning in Asia, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours but up 3.4% for the week as the recovery from the strike held. Ether slipped 2.2% to $1,957, giving back some of its rebound but still up 2.6% over seven days. BNB slightly outperformed, up 5.2% for the week to $629.
The damage was concentrated further away on the plateau. Dogecoin fell 2.9% in 24 hours and 3.9% over the week. Cardano fell 4.2% on the day and 3.5% over seven days. Solana lost 0.8% to $85.16 and remains the worst performing major on a weekly basis at -4.2%, still bearing the brunt of Saturday’s sell-off. XRP remained relatively stable, down 1.3% to $1.35 with a modest weekly gain of 1.5%.
The general scheme is the same. Most major stocks recovered from the weekend’s lows but were unable to sustain Tuesday’s highs, leaving the market in a wait-and-see situation while waiting for the Iranian situation to become clearer and the traditional Monday market reaction to stabilize.
“BTC’s rebound to $70,000 looks like a classic shock, rinse and rebuild move. Much of the weekend’s selling was forced and liquidity was low, so the rebound may be rapid once the pressure is lifted,” said Wojciech Kaszycki, CSO of BTCS SA, in an email. “After BTC returned above $70,000, the real signal is not the price surge. 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 sold off sharply on Wednesday, with South Korean shares posting their biggest two-day decline since 2008, as the Iran conflict continues to unsettle investors.
Tech stocks in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 4%, dragging Japan, Taiwan and South Korea lower. The Indian rupee fell to a record low due to falling oil prices. Gold climbed higher, dragging silver with it for the first time this week.
Oil remains the key variable. Brent surged again on Wednesday despite the United States announcing plans to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the weekend strikes.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump launched an insurance program for oil tankers, but provided no details. The longer the Strait remains disrupted, the more energy prices fuel inflation expectations, which pushes rate cuts further, tightening the liquidity environment that fuels risk assets.
“We believe Bitcoin is an emerging reserve asset,” Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, said in comments to CoinDesk. “Many people simply cannot fully accept it 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 highlighted the broader disappointment in crypto markets following previous crashes, noting that “Bitcoin’s current decline is largely due to this disappointment, especially against the backdrop of rising stocks, with gold, silver and stock indexes hitting new highs.”
