The war intensified. Bitcoin briefly became smaller.
Bitcoin fell to $65,112 in the early hours of Monday, its lowest level since the February crash, before recovering to $67,402 as Asian markets opened, according to CoinDesk.
The 24-hour price range was $65,112 to $67,389, reflecting the market's sharp sell-off on overnight escalating headlines and finding buyers near $65,000, a level that has not been tested since the war weekend five weeks ago.
Ethereum was up 2% at $2,044, Solana was up 0.9% at $83.48, and XRP was up 1.4% at $1.35. However, the 24-hour green across the board belies the weekly situation. BTC is still down 1% this week, ETH is down 0.9%, XRP is down 1.9%, and SOL is down 3.7%. Tron is a name in the green, rising 2.6% in a day and 4.6% in a week, quietly outperforming the entire major complex.
This upgrade is happening simultaneously from multiple directions. The Iranian-backed Houthis have entered the conflict, opening a new front outside the direct U.S.-Israeli-Iran war zone. The arrival of more U.S. troops in the Middle East has heightened concerns about operations on the ground.
President Donald Trump is considering military action to remove enriched uranium from Iran used to produce nuclear weapons, but no decision has been made yet, The Wall Street Journal reported. Iran has attacked two aluminum production sites in the region, sending metal prices up as much as 6% and extending the economic damage from the war beyond oil to industrial goods.
Brent crude oil prices rose 2.5% to around $115 a barrel, and are up about 90% so far this year. Asian stocks fell sharply, with South Korea's benchmark index falling 3.2% on a selloff in technology stocks and Japan's Nikkei falling 3.4%. S&P 500 futures pared losses and traded roughly flat, suggesting stabilization after the initial reaction.
The low of $65,112 is technically important. This level is within the range of the $64,000 low on February 28, the day the war broke out. Bitcoin spent five weeks establishing a pattern of higher lows with each upgrade, from $64,000 to $66,000 to $68,000 to $69,400 to $70,596.
Monday's fall below $66,000 was the first time in weeks that the floor moved lower rather than higher. Whether it resumes and re-establishes the uptrend or marks the beginning of a break below the range it has held since the start of the war is a question for the rest of the day.
At the same time, oil prices hit $115 and aluminum prices soared due to direct attacks on production facilities, meaning the effects of inflation are spreading beyond the energy sector into industrial supply chains. This makes the Fed's stance more difficult and its timetable for rate cuts more distant.
