Bitcoin fell 1.6% to just under $82,800 as of Thursday Asian morning hours, breaching a key support level amid rising oil prices and Treasury yields triggered by reports of possible U.S. strikes against Iran.
Oil jumped after a report that the White House asked the Pentagon for strike options against Iran, pushing Treasury yields back toward their highest since 2002. Brent crude rose 2% to above $102 a barrel. Besides the Iran report, a storm shut some U.S. oil output, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck two airports in Saudi Arabia, killing three people. The jump in crude pushed the 10-year Treasury yield up two basis points to 5.31%.
The drop takes bitcoin below $83,000, the recent low that FxPro said on Tuesday would confirm sellers had taken control. The firm said a break there could send bitcoin to $80,000 "fairly quickly."
Market moves
- XRP led losses among major cryptocurrencies, down nearly 4% to about $1.42
- DOGE slid 3% to just under 9 cents
- Ether lost 3% to about $2,570
- HYPE and SOL each fell more than 2%, and ZEC slipped less than 1%
- BNB and TRX were the only gainers, each up less than 1%, according to CoinDesk data
