The Middle East is once again in turmoil, and this has immediately impacted crypto investors’ wallets. Bitcoin broke through the $83,000 mark and continues to slide.
On Thursday, the market looked rather gloomy. Oil prices are fluctuating, government bond yields are rising, and investors, rather than taking risks with digital assets, are opting for more predictable instruments. As of 9:13 a.m., the world’s leading cryptocurrency had lost about 1.56%, dropping to $82,914. During the day, the price even hit a low of $82,300, marking a three-week low.
It’s a rough day for everyone. Altcoins are following the leader’s lead and are also plummeting. It seems that after a surge in the third quarter, the market has decided to engage in massive profit-taking. Even fresh investments from MicroStrategy—which holds the largest amount of Bitcoin among corporations—couldn’t stop this decline.
What exactly is weighing on the market? First, geopolitics. Oil prices have spiked sharply because the U.S. is seriously discussing the possibility of military operations against Iran, especially given the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Over the past week, Iran has intensified its attacks on ships there, causing shipping traffic to drop to a two-month low.
Second, rising energy prices are fueling inflation fears. If inflation takes hold, the Fed will have to keep interest rates high. The minutes from the Fed’s September meeting were released overnight, and they make one thing clear: regulators are taking a hard line. This immediately pushed up bond yields. On Wednesday, 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a 24-year high. This is bad news for cryptocurrencies, because when investors can make money on reliable bonds, no one wants to get involved in risky speculation.
Amid this chaos, there is some positive news, though it hasn’t been enough to rescue the market yet. Solana and Samsung have agreed to collaborate. Now, through Samsung Wallet and Samsung Pay in the U.S., users will be able to make international payments using the USDC stablecoin on the Solana network. This is a major step, as Solana is already actively used by PayPal and Western Union. But, as is often the case, even this news failed to help amid the general downturn: the Solana token fell 3.3% on Thursday.
Overall, the market is currently in a losing streak. Ether fell 2.2% to $2,558, while XRP lost 5.2% in one go. Cardano and BNB are also in the red. Even meme coins weren’t spared: Dogecoin fell 3.9%, and the TRUMP token lost 3%. It seems like now is the time to ride out the storm.