Bitcoin Falls Below $73K to a 6-Week Low After Strike on Iran

Cryptocurrency

On Thursday, Bitcoin fell below the $73,000 mark, reaching its lowest level in more than six weeks, as new U.S. military strikes on Iran undermined risk appetite and triggered a wave of selling across cryptocurrency markets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading down 4% at $72,782.9 as of 06:38 GMT, hitting its lowest level since mid-April.

Ether, the second-largest token by market capitalization, fell 5% to $1,975.63 — its lowest level in two months.

U.S. Strikes Iran Again; Oil Recovers

Investor sentiment worsened after reports that the United States carried out a second round of strikes on Iran this week, reducing hopes for a swift peace settlement and pushing oil prices higher again.

Brent crude recovered above $97 per barrel after falling in the previous session amid optimism over possible talks between Washington and Tehran.

On Wednesday, markets briefly rose after Iranian state-linked media reported progress on a framework agreement that could restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, those hopes faded after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected reports that Iran and Oman would jointly oversee shipping operations under the proposed agreement.

Rising oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions reduced interest in risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. In addition, investors were preparing for the release of U.S. inflation data on Thursday, which could influence expectations regarding Federal Reserve interest rates.

Bitcoin Under Pressure from Institutional Selling

Bitcoin also faced additional pressure from continued institutional selling and significant outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs.

According to SoSoValue, on May 27, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $733.43 million — one of the largest single-day figures in recent weeks.

Over the past two weeks, crypto ETFs have recorded total net outflows of more than $2.5 billion. Analysts also pointed to reports of a $1.29 billion dark-pool block trade linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which coincided with Bitcoin’s sharp reversal earlier this week.

The latest decline extended Bitcoin’s pullback from highs above $82,000 recorded earlier this month. Traders are increasingly concerned that persistent inflation and high energy prices could keep U.S. interest rates elevated for longer.

Crypto Market Today: Altcoins Continue Sharp Decline

Most altcoins also fell sharply on Thursday.

XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, declined 3.7% to $1.29.

Solana lost 4%, while Cardano and Polygon each fell 4.5%.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin dropped 4.2%.

See also: "BlackRock's bitcoin ETF sheds $528 million, the second-largest daily outflow on record"

Share: