Bitcoin hits two-week low as war tensions fan uncertainty

Bitcoin fluctuated near a two-week low on Monday, sliding in early Asia trading before rebounding to a key support level amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The original cryptocurrency fell as low as $67 371, its lowest level since March 9, in early trading, spending much of the day around $68,000 — a 200-week technical support level. The token was at roughly $67 800 at 7 a.m. in London.

The weakness reflects a broader pullback in risk assets as tensions in the Middle East intensified over the weekend. US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants unless the country reopened the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway. Tehran responded by warning it would target key infrastructure across the Middle East should its fuel and energy infrastructure be attacked.

“The primary trigger was geopolitical,” said Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets. “President Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum threatening to obliterate Iranian power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened spiked Brent crude prices.”

Bitcoin has so far been less affected by the Iran conflict this month than more traditional assets. As oil edged higher on Monday, gold fell more than 3%, nearly wiping out its gains for the year. The metal is down 17% this month.

Equities in Asia opened lower, while global bond yields rose. Japanese and South Korean indexes slid, and MSCI’s All Country World Index — the broadest measure of global equities — extended losses for the year.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, is up about 4% in March. It’s a relatively calm run for an asset still trading 45% below its high of $126,251 in October, when crypto markets faced a sharp selloff that has left prices under pressure.

At $68,000, Bitcoin is hovering around its 200-week exponential moving average — a psychologically important trend line for the digital asset.

“Historically these have been phenomenal regions to add if leaning bullish,” said Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto.

Still, crypto trading has remained tepid. A market sentiment index from Coinglass remains at the “extreme fear” level, where it has spent 25 of the last 30 days. Net flows for US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds turned negative in the middle of last week, losing $305.8 million in three days, although the funds still posted a net inflow of $95 million for the full week.

“Bitcoin’s ‘safe haven’ story gets tested in weeks like this because its price is recently moving with risk rather than against it,” said Haider Rafique, global managing partner at crypto exchange OKX.

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