Bitcoin Recovers Following Plunge as US, Israel Begin Bombing Iran
Bitcoin’s price dropped sharply from $65,572 to $63,176 overnight after the U.S. and Israel began joint combat operations in Iran, targeting military sites and leaders. The cryptocurrency rebounded hours later and is now trading at $65,051—a 0.8% daily decline and 5.2% loss over seven days. Major altcoins like Ethereum, XRP, and Solana also fell but have largely recovered, showing under 2% daily losses. The market plunge triggered about $490 million in crypto liquidations in 24 hours, mostly of Bitcoin ($196M) and Ethereum ($132M) longs. At its lowest, Bitcoin was 50% below its $126,000 all-time high and remains down 23% over the past month; it started the year at $87,000. Crypto prices have historically reacted negatively to geopolitical unrest, as seen after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The strikes prompted Iranian retaliation and mass civilian casualties, with 85 deaths reported at a girls’ school. Prediction markets now show a 51% chance the Iranian regime will collapse before October, up 20% in one day.
