The Middle East and markets: how war affects cryptocurrencies and gas
3 March 19:50
Bitcoin fell again after briefly breaking through the $70,000 mark. At the start of European trading on Tuesday, the cryptocurrency lost about 4.4% and fell to $66,876. This was reported by Bloomberg , according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The decline came amid a sell-off of risky assets due to fears of a protracted war in the Middle East.
The market is going into “defense” mode
The decline in cryptocurrency accelerated after the opening of European exchanges: the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell more than 3%, which was the largest two-day decline since April.
Bitcoin was not the only one under pressure. Ethereum and Solana tokens also lost value as investors sought safer assets.
Markets are reacting to reports of US and Israeli bombing of Iran over the weekend, which has heightened geopolitical tensions.
A “cooling off” or a trend reversal?
Apollo Crypto’s head of research, Pratik Kala, called the decline a “normal cooling period.” According to him, since the beginning of February, Bitcoin has been trading in the $65,000–70,000 range, and any attempt to break above this threshold provokes profit-taking.
However, the latest market reaction has once again called into question the thesis of Bitcoin as “digital gold.” Unlike cryptocurrencies, physical gold has shown four days of growth.
Geopolitics and commodity markets
Tensions in the Middle East have affected more than just cryptocurrencies. Earlier, there were reports of a sharp rise in natural gas prices after LNG production in Qatar was halted due to attacks on infrastructure.
As a result, investors are increasingly turning to classic “safe havens,” avoiding volatile assets.
