Recent days have seen shocking developments on the geopolitical front, with the United States and Israel launching coordinated attacks against Iran. The operation took place on Saturday, February 28, 2026, and because cryptocurrency markets trade 24 hours a day, Bitcoin’s price action quickly reflected the shock. Bitcoin became the world’s real-time benchmark for fear, plummet, recovery and traders bracing for what comes next.
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The first shock: Bitcoin drops below $64,000
Bitcoins price action took a hit almost as soon as reports emerged that American and Israeli forces were conducting military operations in Iran. Notably, Bitcoin fell from a price of $65,572 to $63,176 in about an hour overnight after the strikes were reported.
According to data from The Kobeissi LetterIn just 15 minutes after the news broke, more than $100 million worth of leveraged Bitcoin longs were liquidated. The scale of the sell-off was significant: approximately $128 billion was wiped from the entire crypto market in one hour, while liquidations on global exchanges soared.
Bitcoins though didn’t stay down long after the first dive. The largest cryptocurrency began to recover as traders speculated on the developments, including confirmation of the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in the attacks. In early trading in Asia, BTC climbed back above $67,000 and regained some ground as markets reevaluated the situation and eased the temporary panic.
Bitcoin rose as much as 2.21% above $68,000 after news of Khamenei’s death, with Coingecko data pointing to an intraday high of $68,043. Yet the recovery has been uneven, with price action reflecting continued uncertainty about how geopolitical tensions will be resolved. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price action has corrected slightly from this intraday high and is now trading at $66,310.
What comes next: Analysts warn the rally could be fragile
Despite the upswing, market analysts on social media platforms are recommending caution. The real price reaction will happen on Monday when the US stock markets and Bitcoin ETFs reopen. As it stands, the attacks are not yet a contained event, with missiles still hitting Dubai and Iranian retaliation across the Gulf. There is also the risk of a complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.
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Bitcoin does currently passing by down nearly 50% from its all-time high of over $126,000 earlier in October 2024, unable to join rallies in gold, silver and other assets. All eyes will be on the market on Monday, as the entire traditional investing niche begins to respond to the full weight of the world’s most dramatic geopolitical escalation in years. Bitcoin does already in a vulnerable state, and therefore a move towards $60,000 could play during the week if there is any form of selling pressure.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView