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Bitcoin Drops to $65,112 Amid Escalating Iran War
Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp decline over the weekend, briefly touching $65,112 on Sunday, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated. The drop triggered over $400 million in liquidations across the crypto market.
The leading cryptocurrency fell from near $70,000 on Friday, liquidating leveraged positions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to data from CoinGlass. As of the latest data, Bitcoin has recovered slightly, trading around $67,500, up 1.2% over the past 24 hours.
The market downturn coincided with reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a “complex and risky” military operation to extract uranium from Iran, as detailed by The Wall Street Journal. Citing U.S. officials, the report states the mission would aim to remove nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium and could involve U.S. forces being inside Iran for days or longer. While no final decision has been made, officials indicate Trump remains open to the idea as a potential means to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
This potential escalation has impacted investor sentiment. Users on the prediction market Myriad now assign only a 41% probability that Bitcoin’s next major move will be a rally to $84,000, a significant drop from nearly 65% on March 17.
Despite the recent volatility, Bitcoin has shown relative strength since the U.S.-Iran conflict began on February 28, gaining nearly 2% over that period. In contrast, the S&P 500 and gold have declined by approximately 5.6% and 14%, respectively, while oil prices have surged nearly 40%.
Analysts point to multiple factors for the weekend drop, including month-end portfolio rebalancing by institutional investors and macroeconomic concerns over rising U.S. Treasury yields and a strong dollar. However, the timing aligns with heightened geopolitical risk.
Market outlooks remain mixed. Some experts suggest Bitcoin could remain range-bound between $67,000 and $72,000 as the quarter ends. In a more bearish scenario, on-chain analyst Willy Woo suggested on Sunday that Bitcoin could bottom between $46,000 and $54,000, citing capital leaving the Bitcoin network.
