Bitcoin fell below $76,000 on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East resurfaced, along with strong outflows from exchange-traded funds, weighing on the cryptocurrency market despite gains in technology stocks on Wall Street and in Asia.
The world's largest cryptocurrency fell 1.5% to $75,730.50 by 2:33 a.m. EST. This decline came amid renewed uncertainty surrounding the prospects for a peace agreement between the United States and Iran, following new US military strikes targeting sites in Iran earlier this week. Tehran considered the strikes a violation of the ceasefire, while Washington described them as defensive measures.
Market pressure intensified with reports of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Reports also surfaced of a massive $1.3 billion sale of units in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust on a secretive trading platform, coinciding with Bitcoin's recent slump. Spot funds linked to the currency continue to see outflows as investors grow increasingly cautious after weeks of volatility and heightened geopolitical risks.
In contrast, technology stocks continued to support the markets, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting record highs, while traders awaited the release of the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, due on Thursday.
