(April 2): Bitcoin tumbled in Asia on Thursday after US President Donald Trump indicated there would be harder strikes against Iran in the coming weeks.
Cryptocurrencies fell across the board. Bitcoin dropped as much as 2.8% to below US$66,300 ($85,363.90) as of 12.40pm in Singapore. Smaller tokens took a bigger hit, with ether down as much as 4.7% and solana falling as much as 5.1%.
Investors pulled back from risk assets following a speech from Trump that damped hopes of an imminent end to the military conflict with Iran. MSCI’s Asia Pacific share index fell 1.7%, reversing a rebound. Brent crude, meanwhile, jumped more than 5% to above US$106 a barrel.
“Stock and commodity markets continue to whipsaw according to Trump’s latest comments on geopolitical developments,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets. “Bitcoin is largely following stocks’ direction, though in the past few weeks it has showed reduced sensitivity to both good and bad news.”
Trump’s comments soured the more upbeat sentiment following remarks earlier this week that he would consider ending the war with Iran before reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway.
See also: Bitcoin holds modest gains after five-month losing streak ends
Bitcoin had been weathering the war better than many assets. It ended March up 2% from the previous month, snapping a five-month losing streak. Gold, normally a save-haven asset, ended March down more than 11% amid concerns about inflation fuelled by disruptions to energy supplies from the Middle East.
Still, bitcoin demand has remained under pressure since a selloff in October, leaving the token down roughly 45% from its peak that month above US$126,000. Apparent demand, which measures the extent to which demand exceeds or falls short of new bitcoin being mined, was negative by about 63,000 as of late last month, according to a report Wednesday from CryptoQuant.
Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane
