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Bitcoin falls to $68K amid uncertainty over Iran
Bitcoin fell on Friday, ending a quiet week, as risk aversion due to the war with Iran and expectations of a massive $14 billion options expiry kept traders cautious toward cryptocurrencies.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped 1.9% to $68,739.5 as of 06:18 GMT and was heading for a weekly decline of 0.3%.
Conflicting signals regarding the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran largely stripped Bitcoin of its initial momentum this week, especially as Washington and Tehran issued opposing statements about a potential ceasefire.
Bitcoin heads toward $14 billion options expiry on Friday
About $14 billion worth of Bitcoin options are set to expire later on Friday, with the majority of open interest closing on the crypto exchange Deribit.
Focus is on Bitcoin’s price movements before and after the expiry, particularly amid broader market volatility driven by the Iran conflict.
A Bloomberg report identified the maximum “pain level” for Bitcoin at around $75,000 — where the largest number of options expire worthless. Large institutional investors and fund managers may push the price toward this level to limit payouts to buyers.
However, the rollover of contracts is expected to reduce short-term hedging activity in crypto markets, leaving Bitcoin more vulnerable to external shocks, particularly from the Middle East conflict.
While Bitcoin has shown some strength since the conflict began nearly a month ago, it has failed to break above $75,000. This comes after the world’s largest cryptocurrency lost up to 50% from its late-2025 record high of nearly $126,000.
Much of Bitcoin’s recent strength may also have been driven by hedging activity ahead of Friday’s expiry.
Crypto prices today: altcoins fall amid Iran de-escalation signals
Broader cryptocurrency prices mostly declined on Friday amid conflicting signals about de-escalation in the Iran conflict, although they remained above weekly lows.
The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, fell 2.6% to $2,066.74, while XRP dropped 1.7% to $1.3628.
Solana and Cardano fell more than 3% each, while BNB declined by 1%.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin fell 0.7%, while $TRUMP lost 1.1%.
Risk appetite improved slightly after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday extended the deadline for an attack on key Iranian energy facilities, while stating that negotiations with Tehran were ongoing.
Iran, however, only said it was reviewing a 15-point U.S. ceasefire proposal and ruled out direct talks with Washington.
The conflict showed no signs of de-escalation as it approached its fifth consecutive week.
See also: "Bitcoin whale activity drops to 2023 lows — Santiment"
