Bitcoin’s price fell on Saturday after reports that Iran would launch missile and drone attacks on Israel. In addition to the market leader, many other prominent cryptocurrencies also experienced significant sell-offs as news of an impending international conflict in the Middle East circulated the internet.
Bitcoin suffers a major decline for the second consecutive day
According to multiple reports, Iran began a drone strike on Israel on April 13 in retaliation for an attack on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria on April 1, which killed nine Iranian officers, including a high-ranking general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The incident marked Iran’s first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state, after years of rising political tensions between the two countries. With Iranian forces confirming further missile attacks on “specific targets” in Israel, it is likely that both countries are heading for a full-scale war.
Following reports of the drone attacks in the Middle East, Bitcoin’s price fell 8.07%, from $67,132.1 to $61,710.58, reflecting high selling pressure. Interestingly, this price action marked the second day in a row that the premier cryptocurrency suffered a significant loss after falling 5% on Friday amid minor turbulence in the US stock markets.
Overall, Bitcoin has shown a disappointing performance in recent weeks, losing 12.51% in the past month based on data from CoinMarketCap. The first cryptocurrency has struggled to replicate its bullish form from early 2024, when it hit a new all-time high of $73,750.07. However, with the Halving event quickly approaching, BTC investors are likely optimistic about a potentially huge price gain in the coming months, based on historical price data.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $63,943, marking a 3.61% gain from the previous slump on Saturday. At the same time, the token’s daily trading volume has increased by 22.46% and is valued at $57.37 billion.
Bitcoin trading at $63,971 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSDT chart on Tradingview.com
Altcoins not spared from market crash
In addition to Bitcoin, the price of altcoins also fell significantly due to the escalated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Ethereum, the most popular altcoin and the second largest cryptocurrency, suffered a loss of 10.89%, falling to $2,880.16
Meanwhile, other prominent tokens such as Solana (SOL), XRP and Avalanche (AVAX) also registered price drops of 12.68%, 18.11% and 16.00% respectively. Overall, the total crypto market capitalization fell by 7.78%, to around $2.2 trillion.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview
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