Bitcoin Falls Below $104k as Israel-Iran Tensions Weigh Down Demand for Risky Assets

Bitcoin price plummeted sharply after steadily gaining momentum in the past few weeks as tensions in the Middle East rose after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. After surpassing the psychological $110K level mark earlier this week, Bitcoin prices slipped below $104K.

"The strikes we are conducting are dozens of strikes targeting military targets and targets related to the nuclear programme in different areas of Iran," the Israeli military official reportedly said.

Investor sentiment turned risk-averse amid rising geopolitical tensions, dampening the overall market mood. Asian equities came under pressure, with India’s benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, falling over 1%. Japan’s Nikkei dropped more than 300 points or 0.89%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also slipped over 100 points.

As of 4:35 PM IST, Bitcoin was trading at $104,932, down over 2% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. Ethereum saw a steeper decline, trading at $2,533, down 7.74%. Solana and XRP also followed the downward trend, falling 8.34% and 3.88%, respectively. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalisation dropped 4.37% to $3.27 trillion.

So far this year, Bitcoin has remained highly volatile, albeit in the positive territory, with gains of over 12%. Ongoing geopolitical tensions and broader macroeconomic developments, especially Trump's tariff announcements, have contributed to heightened volatility in high-risk assets.

Meanwhile, the demand for safe-haven assets witnessed a sharp rise. After experiencing a steady decline in price levels, the yellow commodity gained back momentum.

"Gold marked an all-time of ₹1 lakh on the domestic front and hovering close to $3500, as investors sought safe-haven assets after Israel's strike on Iran heightened Middle East tensions. Geopolitical tensions escalated after Israel struck Iran as tensions mounted over US efforts to halt Iran's production of atomic bomb materials. This latest spike in hostilities in the Middle East has taken the focus off trade negotiations for now, and built the risk premium once again in the market," said Manav Modi, Senior Analyst, commodity research at Motilal Oswal Financial services Ltd.