Bitcoin Oil prices rose above $71,500 on Friday, outperforming U.S. stocks, despite a stronger dollar and remaining elevated as the war with Iran heads into its third week.
A stronger dollar can tighten global financial conditions and often puts pressure on risk assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. Rising oil prices – Brent and West Texas Intermediate are both hovering around $100 a barrel – have heightened inflation concerns and raised expectations for a rate hike. Higher interest rates can also make such investments less attractive.
Despite these macro and geopolitical pressures, including conflict in the Middle East, Bitcoin has remained resilient and is one of the best-performing macro assets since the war began on March 1. Historically, Fridays in this period have seen the largest cryptocurrency down around 3%, a pattern that has yet to be repeated.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the U.S. dollar’s strength against a basket of major global currencies, topped 100 for the first time since late November. U.S. Treasury yields are also rising, with the benchmark 10-year note climbing above 4.2%, reflecting tighter financial conditions and rising borrowing costs.
Meanwhile, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Nasdaq 100, has seen little movement of late.
In terms of cryptocurrency-related stocks, Strategy (MSTR), the largest public holder of Bitcoin, rose 1% before official trading began. The company used proceeds from its perpetual senior securities, Stretch (STRC), to purchase approximately 11,000 BTC this week.
Today is STRC’s ex-dividend day, which means its par value has dropped to just under $100, down to around $99.50.
Meanwhile, AI-repurposed Bitcoin miners such as IREN (IREN) and Cipher Digital (CIFR) opened slightly lower, while cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) rose about 2%.
