Bitcoin Drops 3% Below $74,000 as U.S.-Iran Conflict Escalation Sours Sentiment

Bitcoin extended its losses, falling below the $74,000 mark.

As of 12:42 p.m. in Korea on May 28, Bitcoin was trading at $73,481.73 on Binance's USDT market, down 3% from a day earlier. On Upbit's won market, it was trading at 108.309 million won, down 1.13%.

Major altcoins also came under pressure. Ether traded at $1,985.57 on Binance's USDT market, down 4.23% from the previous day, while XRP fell 3.37% to $1.2860.

The selloff appears to reflect weakening investor sentiment as military clashes between the U.S. and Iran intensified again.

U.S. Central Command said it carried out airstrikes on Iranian military targets on May 28. A U.S. official described the operation as defensive and said Washington intends to maintain the ceasefire that began last month.

U.S. forces also shot down four Iranian suicide drones launched toward commercial vessels and struck a drone-launch unit in Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the reports.

Iran responded immediately. Xinhua News Agency reported that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a May 28 statement that it struck a U.S. air base used in the attack after American forces conducted airstrikes on an area outside Bandar Abbas.

The IRGC said the strike on the U.S. air base was in response to the attack near the airport in Bandar Abbas. It added that it would respond more forcefully if the U.S. launched further attacks and that Washington would bear responsibility for the consequences.