BTC Price Slips Below $83K, Crypto Stocks Fall After Report Of Possible US Strikes On Iran

• The overall crypto market fell 1.25% to about $2.8 trillion.
• More than $400 million in crypto bets were liquidated in the last 24hours following over $600 million in the previous session.
• The sell-off coincided with weakness in U.S. equities and rising Treasury yields.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $83,000 on Thursday morning, pressuring major crypto stocks after reports that the White House had asked the Pentagon for military strike options against Iran sent oil prices higher and pushed Treasury yields back toward recent highs.

Bitcoin’s price fell 1.2% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $82,700 at the time of writing. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency trended in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. 

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor-backed Strategy (MSTR), crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), USDC stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and Tom Lee’s Ethereum (ETH) treasury, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) were under pressure in pre-market trade.

MSTR stock was flat in early morning hours on Thursday, while COIN stock edged 0.3% lower and CRCL stock moved 0.4% lower. BMNR shares also moved 0.4% lower. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Coinbase, Bitmine and Circle continued to trend in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. Sentiment around Strategy joined the cohort, dipping to ‘bearish’ from the ‘neutral’ zone over the past day. 

Oil Rally, Rising Yields Weigh On Stocks

It wasn’t just Bitcoin feeling the heat of rising oil prices and treasury yields. The broader stock market was also trending lower in pre-market trade.The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was fell as much as 0.40%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) slipped 0.80%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) moved 0.52% lower. Retail sentiment around SPY on Stocktwits continued to trend in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day. 

The latest moves followed a report by The Atlantic that the White House had asked the Pentagon to prepare military strike options against Iran that could be carried out before the midterm elections. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures expiring in November rose over 4% on the day, trading at over $92 at the time of writing. Brent crude futures also rose over 4% on the day, trading at over $104. 

XRP, Solana Lead Crypto Losses

In the crypto market, Ripple’s XRP (XRP) led losses among crypto majors, followed by Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE). XRP’s price dipped as much as 3% in the last 24 hours to around $1.41, while Solana’s price dropped 2.5% to under $115 and Dogecoin’s price fell to $0.8, down 1.5% in the last 24 hours. 

Leading altcoin Ethereum (ETH) traded at par with Bitcoin, down 1.1% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $2,550 at the time of writing. 

One altcoin, among the top 50 by market capitalization, that was beating the market selloff was NEAR Protocol (NEAR). NEAR’s price gained over 3% in the last 24 hours to touch $5.25, paring gains after hitting a record high of over $5.59.

The overall cryptocurrency market dipped 1.25 in the last 24 hours to around $2.8 trillion and saw over $400 million in liquidations, according to CoinGlass data. This follows over $600 million wiped out in crypto bets during the previous session. 

Crypto ETFs also saw big outflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs sold $487 million, and Ethereum spot ETFs saw $160 million exit on Wednesday, according to SoSoValue data.

Will Bitcoin’s Price Recover?

According to crypto analyst Ted Pillows, Bitcoin’s repeated failure to break above the $86,000 to $78,000 range makes a move toward $82,500 more likely. Should the apex cryptocurrency fall below that level, he said it could open the way to the mid-$70,000s.

In his X post, Pillows framed the downside scenario as his current assessment, not a certainty. He wants to see how Bitcoin behaves around the range before committing to a trade. The important distinction is between Bitcoin testing support and actually breaking below it with confirmation.

On Stocktwits, one retail trader said a pullback to Bitcoin’s 50-week moving average around, followed by a rebound, would be a positive development.

Another trader argued that Bitcoin’s weak price action near the bottom of its range could be a test of investors’ patience before a sharp recovery. 

Bitcoin’s price is down nearly 7% this year and remains nearly 35% below its record high of over $126,000 seen in October last year.

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