Bitcoin Holds $68K as Iran War Hammers Stocks and Metals
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- Bitcoin traded around $68,000, down just 1% over 24 hours but up more than 2% from its session low near $66,000, bucking a broad risk-asset selloff tied to the Iran war.
- Equity markets collapsed in U.S. and European trading, with the Nasdaq down 2.5% and the S&P 500 off 2.3%; Italy's IBEX 35 plunged 5.2% and Germany's DAX fell 4.1%.
- Precious metals reversed their prewar run-up, with gold down 4.3%, silver off 7.5%, and platinum tumbling 11.3%, while WTI crude oil surged another 8% to $77 per barrel.
- Crypto-related stocks did not share Bitcoin's resilience — Robinhood (HOOD) dropped 7%, Coinbase (COIN) fell 5%, Strategy (MSTR) and Bullish (BLSH) each lost 4%, and Circle (CRCL) slipped about 1%.
- James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, called Bitcoin's price action 'constructive,' arguing the absence of large liquidations signals adjusted positioning versus past geopolitical shocks.
- Ether, solana, and XRP were also down on the day but recovered from their session lows, mirroring Bitcoin's pattern of intraday resilience.
Why it matters: Bitcoin's ability to hold $68,000 while the S&P 500 falls 2.3% and gold drops 4.3% revives the 'digital safe haven' narrative — but the divergence is Bitcoin-specific: crypto equities like COIN and HOOD fell 5–7%, proving this is a BTC trade, not a sector-wide bid.
