Resurgent U.S.-Iran hostilities send bitcoin lower even as ETF flows show demand
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Bitcoin is hovering near $63,000 after falling more than 1% since midnight UTC amid a wider wave of risk-off sentiment following the U.S. and Iran mutual airstrikes over the weekend.
Brent crude futures rose more than 3% to approach $79 a barrel as the renewed fighting raised concerns over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passageway. Higher energy prices add inflationary pressure and reduce the scope for easier monetary policy, a link that weighed on bitcoin during earlier oil shocks.
"This week, crypto markets will experience a 'tug-of-war' between macro and geopolitics," Taran Dhillon, head of digital assets at Kula, told CoinDesk.
U.S. inflation data coming this week will shape interest-rate expectations, Dhillon said.
Still, spot bitcoin and ether ETFs just broke eight-week streaks of outflows, a sign of growing demand for the two largest cryptocurrencies.
Regulatory clarity may add further tailwinds, Dhillon noted, as the Clarity Act advances. While ethics provisions are still being discussed, "even incremental progress matters," he said.
"Markets have been pricing in regulatory uncertainty for years; every step toward clarity on how digital assets are classified and overseen reduces that discount and makes the asset class easier for institutional capital to underwrite," Dhillon added.
Traders will be watching Tuesday's CPI release and Wednesday’s PPI for signals on the Federal Reserve’s next move. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead."
What’s trending
- Profit-taking, MidEast hostilities drag crypto lower after bullish week (CoinDesk): The crypto market pulled back during Asian and European hours on Monday, with bitcoin falling to $63,100. The drops reflected renewed Middle East tensions as Iran and the U.S. fought over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Bitcoin’s BIP 110 fork deadline nears with miner support at zero (CoinDesk): A proposal to purge non-financial data from the Bitcoin blockchain is heading toward a hard deadline in early August, and the initial support it has gathered from miners is less than 1%.
- Oil gains over 2% as fresh military strikes threaten Hormuz shipments (Reuters): Oil prices surged more than 2% after attacks intensified in the Middle East, renewing concerns of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures were priced at $77.68, and West Texas Intermediate at $73.00.
Today’s signal
The chart shows bitcoin's price in weekly candles for several years.
While the price has bounced off the support level near $58,000 — the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement — it remains within a broader downtrend of lower highs.
The largest cryptocurrency is currently trading around $63,000, with key resistance levels to watch on the upside at $66,000 and $68,900.
RSI sits at ~38, weak but with no meaningful divergence to flag a trend reversal.
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