The Middle East conflict has triggered market turbulence, with geopolitical tensions escalating: Bitcoin falls below 103K, while gold and oil both soar.

The global Crypto Assets market has once again faced geopolitical shocks, as Israel launched a preemptive military strike against Iran, triggering a panic sentiment in the market. Bitcoin plummeted by as much as 3% after the news broke, falling below $103,000, while the second largest Crypto Assets, Ethereum, dropped by as much as 7.6%. This incident not only affected the Crypto Assets market but also triggered a wave of dumping of risk assets globally, with investors flocking to traditional safe-haven assets.

Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, and Bitcoin plummeted by 4.5%.

On June 13, 2025, the Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale airstrike against dozens of military and nuclear facility targets within Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Katz announced a special emergency state, calling it a "preventive strike" against Iran. This sudden incident immediately raised market concerns about the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, boosting demand for safe-haven assets.

The sudden escalation of geopolitical tensions has caused severe turbulence in global financial markets, with significant differentiation among major asset classes. In this wave of asset dumping, the crypto assets market has faced heavy pressure. Bitcoin plummeted 3.62% within 24 hours, falling from a high of $103,948 and briefly dipping below the $103,000 mark. Ethereum saw an even more drastic decline, sliding from a peak of $2,767 to as low as $2,448, before recovering to about $2,514.68, resulting in a 24-hour decline of 9.12%. Market panic is escalating, with the overall crypto market capitalization shrinking to $3.25 trillion within 24 hours, a drop of 4.25%.

Bitcoin price once fell to $102,892 | Source: BingX Bitcoin price analysis

The dire situation of the crypto assets market is further reflected in the liquidation data. According to Coinglass data, approximately 215,000 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with a total liquidation amount reaching $1.019 billion, of which the liquidation amount for long positions was as high as $945 million. These data reflect the vulnerability of leveraged traders in the face of sudden geopolitical risks and the characteristic rapid contraction of liquidity in the crypto assets market during times of crisis.

Safe-haven assets rose sharply, with spot gold prices increasing by 1.5%, reporting at $3,436.97 per ounce, and gold futures rising 1.6% to $3,459.60 per ounce. The energy market reacted even more violently, with Brent crude oil prices soaring nearly 9% to $78 per barrel, while U.S. WTI crude oil futures surged over 6%, reaching $74.30. Global stock markets fell sharply in unison, with Asian markets being the hardest hit; the Nikkei 225 index fell by 1.3%, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index dropped by 0.7%. U.S. stock index futures declined across the board by about 1.5%, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 4.32%, indicating that investors are pulling out of risk assets en masse and shifting towards safe-haven instruments such as government bonds.

Tariff wars rising, geopolitical conflicts falling: Is Bitcoin ultimately a safe-haven asset or a risky asset?

Under different economic or geopolitical events, Bitcoin's performance shows a high degree of variability, sometimes fluctuating in sync with the stock market and regarded as a risk asset; at other times, it exhibits a resilience similar to that of gold. This asset character makes it difficult to categorize Bitcoin in the financial markets.

In 2025, after Trump returns to the White House and restarts the tariff policy, concerns about inflation and trade war risks arise in the market, providing a new perspective on observing the properties of Bitcoin assets. Against the backdrop of escalating tariff wars and geopolitical instability, risk-averse sentiment intensifies. Since the beginning of the year, gold prices have risen by about 9%, while Bitcoin has increased by about 3%. Although Bitcoin's performance is not as impressive as gold's, it still demonstrates a certain degree of resilience. Especially when the gold price once broke through 3,500 dollars per ounce and set a new high, Bitcoin, while not experiencing a simultaneous surge, also did not significantly retreat like high-volatility assets, indicating its certain value retention characteristics under specific macro conditions.

In contrast, the conflict between Israel and Iran in July 2024 highlighted another aspect of Bitcoin during acute crises. After the news of Israeli missile strikes on Iran broke, the crypto assets market plummeted overall, with Bitcoin falling over 5.5% during the Asian session, dropping below $60,000, and Ethereum also falling to $2,111. At that time, Bitcoin rapidly dropped from around $70,000 to below $62,000, marking one of the most severe dumping records in a year. Gold, on the other hand, rose during the same period, further emphasizing the behavioral differences between Bitcoin and traditional safe-haven assets. This wave of acute events underscores that, in the face of sudden geopolitical crises, Bitcoin is still largely viewed as a high-risk asset rather than a safe-haven tool.

Regarding the starkly different price performance of Bitcoin in various market environments, Real Vision's chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts stated that this reflects Bitcoin's dual roles. He pointed out that Bitcoin is still often seen as a "risk asset indicator" in the short term, rising when market sentiment is optimistic and quickly falling when sentiment turns negative; however, as institutional investors gradually participate, long-term capital begins to dominate, allowing Bitcoin's performance to gradually detach from pure sentiment-driven movements. He further stated: "This is also why it may fluctuate with risk assets in the short term, but in the long term, Bitcoin has the potential to outperform gold."

The transition of market participants' roles at different time scales, combined with the gap in investors' expectations for short-term and long-term returns, is the key reason for the divergence in Bitcoin's asset attributes.

Technical Analysis: Bitcoin falls below the rising channel, short-term trend turns weak.

In the past 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 4.5%, currently priced around $103,502. This drop has caused Bitcoin to break out of the upward trend channel since June, consecutively losing the two key support levels of $105,300 and $104,000, indicating that the technical structure driving this month's rally has been damaged, and market momentum has clearly weakened.

Technical indicators show that the BTC/USD price has fallen below the 50-hour (short-term) and 200-hour (medium-term) moving averages, deepening market bearish sentiment. This wave of decline began with a clear reversal signal: the daily candlestick pattern directly engulfed the previous day's gains (bearish engulfing candle), followed by a rapid increase in selling pressure, with each price rebound facing selling, indicating a heightened willingness to sell and insufficient rebound momentum. Traders who had been buying on dips in the short term are currently at a loss, adding pressure to the market, and the overall market atmosphere is becoming cautious.

Source: BingX BTC/USDT trading trend chart

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently close to 20, entering the oversold zone. Although technically this may indicate short-term rebound potential, there are currently no signs of price stabilization, and bearish conditions temporarily prevail.

If Bitcoin cannot regain stability above $104,000, the next support level will be observed in the range of $101,900 to $100,500; on the contrary, if it can effectively recover $105,300, it has the potential to repair the technical structure and stabilize market sentiment. In the short term, one can pay attention to whether there is any defensive buying behavior around $103,000 to determine if there is an opportunity for stabilization.

Extended Reading: BingX "Mastering Crypto Assets Trading with Candlestick Charts: Complete Guide"

Summary

This week's market dynamics once again highlight the profound impact of geopolitical events on the crypto assets market. The market turmoil triggered by Israel's military actions against Iran not only resulted in a significant fall in Bitcoin and other crypto assets, but more importantly, it exposed Bitcoin's complex asset properties in times of crisis.

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has broken through key support levels and entered a deeply oversold area, facing further downside risk in the short term. However, historical experience shows that geopolitical conflicts are often short-lived, and once the situation eases, market sentiment may quickly reverse.

The deeper issue lies in the asset positioning of Bitcoin. During the Trump tariff war in 2025, Bitcoin exhibited certain hedging characteristics, but in acute geopolitical crises, it returned to the nature of a risk asset. This duality reflects Bitcoin's ongoing search for its position within the global financial system as an emerging asset class. With the increasing participation of institutional investors and the maturation of the market, Bitcoin may gradually demonstrate stronger hedging properties in the future, but this transition requires time and more market tests.

About BingX

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The platform also regularly provides price forecasts for mainstream coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as analytical insights to meet the varying needs of users from beginners to professionals. BingX is committed to creating a trustworthy trading environment, offering innovative tools and features to enhance users' trading capabilities.

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This article discusses how the Middle East conflict has triggered market turbulence, with geopolitical tensions escalating: Bitcoin falls below 103K, while gold and oil both surge. First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.