Bitcoin Drops Below $104K, Wiping Out Over $500 Million Amid Rising War Tensions

Bitcoin Drops as Tensions Rise in the Middle East

On June 17, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped more than 4% as fresh military and political tensions broke out between Israel and Iran.

The popular cryptocurrency fell to a low of $103,300 during the day but later recovered slightly to trade above $104,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was priced at $104,439, down about 3.87% in the past 24 hours.

The rest of the crypto market was hit even harder, falling by an average of 6%. In total, about $508 million worth of crypto positions were liquidated over the past day. Ethereum (ETH) made up $167 million of that.

ETH was trading at $2,471.72, down 5.58%, and XRP was down 6% to $2.16. BNB didn’t drop as much—only 1.6%—and was priced at $647.77. Solana and Cardano both fell by 5.6%, trading at $148.77 and $0.6175, respectively.

Middle East Conflict Sparks Market Fear

The price drops came after Israel reported it had killed a senior Iranian military commander in Tehran on June 17. In the U.S., former President Donald Trump said America knows the location of Iran’s Supreme Leader and called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” adding more tension.

These events caused fear among investors, leading them to pull back from risky assets like cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin as a Safer Investment?

Despite recent volatility, some analysts still see Bitcoin as a useful part of an investment strategy.

A study by Ecoinometrics found that adding 10% Bitcoin to a standard 60/40 investment portfolio (60% stocks, 40% bonds) improved returns over the past year. The Bitcoin mix earned a 14% return with better risk control compared to a similar mix using gold.

Experts at Fidelity, Chris Kuiper and Jurrien Timmer, also say that with ongoing inflation and uncertain policies, traditional bonds are not as reliable for protection anymore. As a result, some investors are turning to Bitcoin as a strong long-term option.