Bitcoin’s price fell to $66,300 as altcoins led crypto losses after geopolitical tensions over Iran escalated over the weekend.
- Oil prices saw the biggest price surge in four years after the three oil tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
- An uptick in oil prices spike threatens crypto by signaling higher inflation and lowering the odds of a March interest rate cut.
- The cryptocurrency market fell in line with the equities market also trading lower after hours with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF down 0.68%.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other crypto majors posted to large losses in the last 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said the joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran would continue until “all objectives” were met.
The overall crypto market tumbled 1.8% in the last 24 hours to around $2.36 trillion. According to CoinGlass data, around $350 million was liquidated over the past day with $238 million in long positions and $114 million in short bets getting wiped out.
Bitcoin’s price fell around 2% in the last 24 hours to $66,300. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency moved higher within ‘bullish’ territory over the past day.
What Is Crypto Crashing?
The U.S.-Irsael conflict with Iran is on track to enter its third day on Sunday night. The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed after three oil tankers were attacked and the price of oil saw its biggest price surge in four years before paring gains.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) rose 4.45% in overnight trade and was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits. Retail sentiment around the fund surged to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, while chatter jumped to ‘extremely high’ from ‘low’ levels.
The United States Oil Fund (USO) jumped more than 5% and was also among the top trending on Stocktwits. Retail sentiment around the fund continued to trend in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, with chatter at ‘extremely high’ levels.
An uptick in oil prices is likely to weight on cryptocurrency prices since it implies higher energy costs, thus higher inflation and reduced expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve later in March. The CME Fed Watch Tool showed a 95.6% probability of rate cuts staying the same.
Ethereum Price Falls Below $2K
Cardano (ADA) led market losses among crypto majors, falling more than 5% in the last 24 hours. Trading at around $0.275 on Sunday night, retail sentiment around the altcoin trended in ‘neutral’ territory over the past day.
Cardano was followed by Solana (SOL), down 4.6% in the last 24 hours. Ripple (XRP) and Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped around 4.2% each. The leading altcoin Ethereum (ETH) fell around 4% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum’s price edged below the $2,000 yet gain, trading at around $1,955 on Sunday night. Retail sentiment around ETH fell to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory over the past day.
Cryptocurrencies have been trading more in line with equities rather than safe-haven assets like gold. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was down 0.68% in after-hours trade on Sunday night, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) tumbled 0.77%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) moved 0.78% lower. Retail sentiment around QQQ on Stocktwits continued to trend in ‘neutral’ territory over the past day.
Read also: OpenAI’s Sam Altman Says Department Of War Blacklisting Anthropic Sets ‘Extremely Scary Precedent’ Amid Pentagon Deal
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<
