Quick overview

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Geopolitical tensions continue to cloud market sentiment, while recent comments from Donald Trump have done little to provide clarity for investors.

The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile amid the conflict in the Middle East. In that context, Bitcoin briefly recovered above the $66,000 level, according to data from Binance.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency is still down about 1.9% on the session, trading at $66,838.13. Meanwhile, Ethereum is following a similar path, falling 3.6% to $2,052.84. Among major altcoins, Solana dropped 6.2%, while BNB declined 5.2%.

Cryptocurrencies await signals from the war

Bitcoin fell as much as 3.6% during the session, briefly dropping below $66,000 — its lowest level since September 2024, a threshold only previously breached during a sharp selloff on February 6 when prices rebounded from around $60,000.

On a six-month basis, the leading cryptocurrency remains down roughly 44.6%.

The war between the United States and Iran continues to shape sentiment in the crypto market. Trump recently said Washington could end military operations against Iran within the next two to three weeks and suggested negotiations with Tehran were progressing, though investors remain wary of a potential escalation.

According to Dushyant Shahrawat of Bloomberg L.P., Iran plays a significant role in global Bitcoin mining, accounting for roughly 6%–8% of the world’s hashrate. Notably, around 70% of that mining activity is reportedly controlled by the military.

Energy disruptions caused by the conflict have therefore reduced the country’s mining capacity, potentially creating broader fragility in the Bitcoin network.

Traditional markets under pressure

Financial sentiment in Wall Street also weakened after Trump indicated the conflict with Iran could last several more weeks, reducing hopes for a swift resolution to the war in the Middle East.

In that environment, U.S. stocks traded lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25% to 46,448.79 points, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1% to 21,810.28, and the S&P 500 edged down 0.1% to 6,569.67.