Israel-Iran Conflict Triggers Flash Sell-off in Cryptocurrency Prices

• The price of bitcoin fell more than 8.2 percent on April 13, when Iran attacked Israel.
• Similar to bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies are seeing a sell-off.

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, among many others, fell sharply today on reports from the Israeli military that Iran had attacked the country with “dozens” of drones.

Reports indicate that a cargo ship owned by an Israeli billionaire has been seized by Iranian officials, in addition to the airstrikes. President Joe Biden of the United States issued a dire warning to Iran on April 12 that they would strike “sooner than later,” emphasizing that America will stand behind Israel in its defense.

As the U.S. has supposedly been attempting to avoid since the Israel-Hamas war in October, the tensions in the area have been steadily rising due to the dispute between Iran and Israel. 

Flash Sell-off

The price of bitcoin fell more than 8.2 percent on April 13, when Iran attacked Israel, further intensifying the Middle Eastern geopolitical crisis. Minutes after the assault, the price of bitcoin plummeted from over $67,000 to $61,624—evaporating more than $130 million in market value.

Bloomberg reports that on Saturday, Iran sent drones flying toward Israel. This action is a response to an assault that Israel carried out a few days before. Seven Iranians, including two generals, were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted a diplomatic building in Damascus, Syria.

Similar to bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies are seeing a sell-off. As of this writing, Solana has fallen 15.56% to $128 and Ether is down 9.71% to $2,928. Overall, the cryptocurrency market has lost 9.51% of its value today, according to statistics compiled by CoinMarketCap.

Normally, crypto isn’t directly impacted by geopolitical events, but because conventional markets are closed on Saturday, it’s hard to say how traders in other asset classes will react.

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