Bitcoin sinks below $103,000 as Israel-Iran conflict sparks global crypto selloff

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies tumbled on Friday after Israel launched military airstrikes on Iran, triggering a wave of risk-off sentiment across global markets. The escalating geopolitical tensions rattled investor confidence, leading to a sharp selloff across crypto assets.

At 10:40 am IST, Bitcoin was trading 3% lower at $104,458, having earlier touched an intraday low of $102,822, according to CoinMarketCap. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is down over 4% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum plunged nearly 9% to $2,512, while the overall crypto market capitalisation dropped 4.2% to $3.24 trillion, wiping out nearly $140 billion in value.

Israel-Iran Conflict Triggers Selloff

The market reaction followed reports of Israeli military strikes on Tehran, with Israel claiming it had targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, missile factories, and senior military leaders in a "preemptive strike" aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iranian state media confirmed the death of Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, while Israeli sources indicated that several senior Iranian officials and nuclear scientists were also likely killed. Israel declared a state of emergency, anticipating potential retaliatory strikes from Iran.

The escalation comes amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations, with a sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks set to take place in Oman on Sunday.

“Bitcoin has reacted strongly to Israeli airstrikes in Iran and is now trading near $104,000,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus. “Risk-off signals, including a surge in gold and oil, suggest uncertainty will continue to prevail. The 7-day options skew has dropped to -3.8%, the lowest since mid-April, as traders hedge aggressively.”

He noted that the market could revisit the early $100,000 levels before any meaningful recovery. “It’s a sentiment reset, not a structural breakdown,” he added.

Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO of Pi42, said the correction underscores how closely crypto now mirrors broader macro events. “Despite the volatility, crypto fundamentals remain strong. This is a reset, not a collapse, and such corrections have often paved the way for more resilient growth.”

Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst at Delta Exchange, pointed out that Bitcoin’s drop below the $105K–$106K support zone and rejection at $110.5K confirms a short-term trend reversal.

“A breakdown below $103K could expose $101.5K and $100K levels,” she said. “Ethereum is also under pressure, with support at $2,500 being closely watched. If that breaks, $2,460 and $2,360 come into play.”

Sehgal added that over $1.4 billion in long positions were liquidated following the geopolitical escalation. However, institutional interest remains steady — BlackRock’s spot ETFs reportedly added 2,650 BTC and 36,640 ETH on June 12.

Meanwhile, altcoins also mirrored Bitcoin’s decline, registering steep losses across the board. Solana dropped 9.4%, Avalanche 10%, Chainlink 9%, Dogecoin 8.5%, Cardano 8.1%, Sui 8.7%, XRP 5.4%, Hyperliquid 4.8%, and BNB 2.3%.

Also Read: Civil War has begun! Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki warns of global chaos, backs Bitcoin as the only safe haven

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)