Bitcoin slipped below the $64,000 mark on June 4 as growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered a broader selloff across cryptocurrency markets and other risk-sensitive assets.
At 9:33 a.m. in Seoul, Bitcoin was trading at $63,666.65 on Binance’s USDT market, marking a 5% decline over the previous 24 hours. On South Korea’s Upbit exchange, the cryptocurrency traded at 94.527 million won, down 0.52%.
The downturn extended beyond Bitcoin, with major altcoins also posting losses. Ether fell 3.7% to $1,802.07, while XRP declined 2.42% to $1.1949.
Market analysts attributed the weakness to heightened concerns over a potential military confrontation between Iran and the United States. Rising fears surrounding the conflict pushed global oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields higher, prompting investors to move away from risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
The latest escalation followed claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that it had launched attacks on a U.S. Air Force base in Kuwait and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Tehran said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for recent U.S. military operations targeting an Iranian oil tanker and telecommunications infrastructure on Qeshm Island.
According to Iranian officials, the operation was a response to U.S. strikes conducted on June 1 against radar facilities on Qeshm Island, followed by an attack on an Iranian oil tanker on June 2.
Investor sentiment was further pressured by news that Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, sold 32 Bitcoin last week at an average price of $77,135 per coin, generating approximately $2.5 million. Despite the sale, the transaction represented only a fraction of the company’s holdings of more than 8.43 million Bitcoin, suggesting limited direct impact on the broader market.
As geopolitical uncertainty continues to rise, traders are closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, with risk assets remaining vulnerable to further volatility.
