Bitcoin holds ground as Iran war escalates and ETFs take in over $760m

Bitcoin’s price held steady above $70,000 Saturday — despite a 24-hour dip — as the US continued bombing Iran.

The price was buoyed by net inflows into the US exchange-traded funds over the week: American investors threw over $763 million of fresh cash at the investment vehicles, according to Farside Investors data, the highest amount since January.

Bitcoin was recently trading hands for $70,768, according to CoinGecko, a drop of 4% over the past day.

Over the past week, the leading cryptocurrency has shot up by 4% and is up by 12% since touching a low of $63,177 the day the US and Israel attacked Iran.

Risk-on environment?

Experts told DL News that the price of Bitcoin and other major coins would suffer because of the Iran war.

But the leading cryptocurrency is experiencing a surge and less of a correlation with other risk-on assets — at least for now.

US equities closed lower Friday, with the S&P 500 hitting a new low this year as the price of oil surged.

Bitcoin in recent months has been correlated with the stock market but this week appeared to break free in “a rare decoupling from traditional risk assets,” according to Diana Pires, Chief Business Officer at sFOX.

Iran escalation

Crypto held steady despite the Iran war raging on: President Donald Trump threatened the worst was to come on Friday and the US military overnight struck sites on Kharg Island, from which Iran exports almost all its oil.

The US president said that oil infrastructure had not been hit and warned Iran not to interfere with the Strait of Hormuz — the route for about a quarter of the world’s liquefied natural gas.

Experts previously warned that a rise in oil prices could mean a crash in crypto prices. Still, despite a spike in the price of crude, Bitcoin seems relatively unfazed.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin was trading for $70,768 per coin on Saturday, down 4% over the past day.
• Ethereum’s price touched $2,074, also dipping by 4%.

What we’re reading

• Court dispatch: MEV bros point to Eisenberg acquittal in high-stakes hearing — DL News
• Libra scandal: forensic experts link messages by Javier Milei to memecoin promoters minutes before launch — DL News
• AI payments debate → both sides wrong — Milk Road
• Toxic Pollution From Iran War Will Spread and Last for Decades — Bloomberg

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].