Bitcoin Falls to $104,300, Most Altcoins See Losses Amid Israel-Iran Tensions

The overall crypto market registered a steep decline late last night following reports of Israeli airstrikes on Iran, triggering a broad risk-off sentiment. Bitcoin, which had touched the price mark of $110,000 (roughly Rs. 94.7 lakh) earlier this week, saw a drop of 3.22 percent on Friday, June 13. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $104,345 (roughly Rs. 89.9 lakh) on international exchanges. On Indian exchanges. Bitcoin's price fell by around two percent bringing its price to $106,899 (roughly Rs. 92 lakh).

"The Israel-Iran situation has escalated tensions in the Middle East. The geopolitical uncertainty also sent crude oil prices surging by over five percent, raising fresh concerns about inflation. Elevated oil prices may compel the US Federal Reserve to adopt a more cautious stance on rate cuts, further dampening investor appetite for risk assets, including crypto," the CoinSwitch Markets Desk told Gadgets 360.

Ether registered a loss of 9.05 percent on Friday to trade at $2,513 (roughly Rs. 2.16 lakh) on international exchanges. The asset logged an eight percent loss on Indian exchanges as well, bringing its price to $2,505 (roughly Rs. 2.15 lakh).

"The crypto market reacted strongly to the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Ethereum maintained bullish momentum, with ETH futures open interest hitting an all-time high of $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,72,252 crore). This indicates growing market participation and a fresh influx of capital," said Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex.

A majority of altcoins showed losses on Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker on Friday.

These include Solana, Dogecoin, Tron, Cardano, Chainlink, Avalanche, and Stellar.

Bitcoin Cash, Shiba Inu, Litecoin, Polkadot, and Monero also settled in losses on Friday.

"The geopolitical escalation in the Middle East have triggered over $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 12,059 crore) in liquidations, predominantly long positions. Crypto moved in tandem with broader risk-off sentiment, while oil surged over seven percent. Despite near-term technical weakness, ETF flows remain constructive," Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange told Gadgets 360.

The overall crypto market cap dipped by 4.14 percent in the last 24 hours. The crypto market cap currently stands at $3.25 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,79,93,615 crore), according to CoinMarketCap.

Meanwhile Tether, Binance Coin, Leo, Iota, and Binance USD emerged as altcoins that managed to hold onto minor gains on the otherwise red price charts.

"The other cryptos within the top 10 are also facing a similar pullback, which suggests the correction could persist for a few more days," the CoinDCX research team informed investors, suggesting them to tread carefully.

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