The price of Bitcoin jumped to a two-week high near $70,000 on Monday, pushing higher alongside riskier assets as the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Iran entered its third day.
The leading digital asset by market cap recently changed hands around $68,938, a 4.4% increase over the past day, according to CoinGecko. Some platforms, including Coinbase and CoinMarketCap, showed Bitcoin briefly rising above the $70,000 mark late Monday morning before ticking back down.
Bitcoin had fallen as low as $63,100 early Saturday, following initial word of bombings in Iran, and then ticked up throughout the day amid initial reports of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death.
On Monday, Ethereum had risen 3.2% over the past day to $2,032. Meanwhile, Solana and XRP had increased 3.5% to $87 and 1.3% to $1.39, respectively.
The Nasdaq Composite showed losses when U.S. markets opened on Monday, but it surged suddenly to recover losses. As of midday, the tech-heavy index had climbed 0.39%, while the S&P 500 was little changed, and the Dow Jones had shaved a few points.
The move marked a dramatic reversal from fears arising as the international conflict first broke, which President Donald Trump indicated from the White House was still in full swing.
“The United States military continues to carry out large-scale combat operations in Iran,” Trump said before recognizing U.S. personnel with the Medal of Honor. “We are destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, and you see that on an hourly basis.”
Stephen Coltman, head of macro at 21shares, told Decrypt that markets are trying to determine whether Iran’s remaining leadership will move quickly to strike a deal with the Trump administration, or whether a prolonged period of instability is more likely in the region.
Editor's note: This story is breaking and will be updated with additional details.
