Bitcoin Falls Below $64,000 on Fresh US Strikes on Iran, Trump’s China Remarks

Bitcoin fell below $64,000 as fresh US strikes on Iran and renewed concerns about US-China friction weighed on risk assets.

CoinDesk reported on July 17 that selling pressure spread across risk assets as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East flared again, dragging Bitcoin lower.

Bitcoin fell to about $63,600 on the day. That followed a roughly 1.4% drop from around $65,000 a day earlier. The cryptocurrency was also trading below its 50-day simple moving average, a widely watched short-term momentum indicator.

Asian stocks also weakened. Japan’s Nikkei 225 at one point dropped nearly 3% to its lowest level in more than a month, while Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.5%. Nasdaq futures lost 0.8% after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had slid more than 1.6% the previous day.

Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, citing authorities in Hormozgan province, reported on July 17 that US airstrikes hit five bridges in the southern Iranian province. Iran’s Chabahar maritime control tower was also reported to have been hit in a missile attack.

Still, West Texas Intermediate crude futures were relatively steady near $79 a barrel. CoinDesk said the oil market had not yet fully priced in the geopolitical stress from the latest US strikes.

President Donald Trump’s remarks on China also pressured risk sentiment. On July 17, Trump released an intelligence report alleging that China interfered in the 2020 US presidential election and had obtained records on 220 million American voters. The Chinese Embassy denied the allegations in full.

CoinDesk said the dispute itself was not a direct market shock. But it could become a new source of friction in US-China relations ahead of a planned meeting in September between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Eamonn Sheridan, chief Asia-Pacific currency analyst at InvestingLive, said Trump’s broad new allegations against China just weeks before the September meeting added a fresh risk of friction to a relationship that had been stabilizing.

He added that the rhetoric, regardless of the underlying facts, could complicate the diplomatic path through September.

CoinDesk said any escalation in US-China tensions could spread uncertainty across risk assets, including Bitcoin.