Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Weathers Market Rout as Israel Hits Iran
Cryptocurrencies slid as Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites roiled global sentiment and sent investors fleeing risk assets.
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the broad crypto market, lost 6.1% over 24 hours, and bitcoin (BTC), seen by some as a haven investment, dropped 2.9%. Gold futures, a more traditional refuge, rose 1.3% from their close.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the overnight attack, which also targeted Iran’s top military leaders, was aimed at rolling back Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities. Iran, which has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction, responded by launching 100 suicide drones toward Israeli territory, though a more concerted reaction is anticipated.
The strike came less than 24 hours after the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was not complying with uranium enrichment limits. The U.S. said it was not involved in the attack, which killed some of Iran’s military leaders.
The escalation saw risk assets across the board plunge. Japan’s Nikkei dropped around 0.9%, U.S. index futures fell 1.2% and the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 1.35%. U.S. crude oil futures, on the other hand, rose more than 6% to $73, with Brent crude spiking 14% at one point. Gold surged to $3,445 per ounce, approaching its all-time high.
Cryptocurrencies’ declines dashed gains eked out earlier in the week on the back of ETF approval speculation. Solana’s sol
SOL$145.01, in particular, had rallied on reports the SEC asked ETF issuers to update their S-1 filings, potentially accelerating the launch timeline. SOL is down nearly 9.5% in the last 24 hours.
“Overnight, reports surfaced that the SEC has asked Solana ETF issuers to update S-1 filings, triggering a sharp rally in SOL,” Jake Ostrovskis, an OTC trader at Wintermute, told CoinDesk.
“Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart remain optimistic, assigning a 90% probability of approval by year-end, with potential approvals coming as soon as July or within three to five weeks of the updated filings,” Ostrovskis said.
As a result, he said, the market is “now relatively underexposed to SOL and related assets, which makes the current setup particularly interesting to watch.”
Despite the optimism and growing inflows into spot crypto ETFs, with BTC funds bringing in $939 million month-to-date and ETH seeing $811 million in net inflows, investors are now focused on the Middle East.
Polymarket traders are weighing a 91% chance that Iran will retaliate against Israel this month, while the perceived odds of U.S. military action against Iran jumped from a mere 4% to 28%. Stay alert!
By Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Sheldon Reback
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