Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies moved lower on Friday as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran combined with a deepening global technology selloff to push investors away from risk-sensitive assets.
At 3:45 p.m. UAE time, bitcoin traded at $63,256.84, falling 1.57 percent over 24 hours and 1.95 percent over seven days.
The largest cryptocurrency’s market capitalization stood at $1.27 trillion, while its 24-hour trading volume reached $24.34 billion.
The broader cryptocurrency market was also firmly in negative territory. CoinMarketCap’s live overview placed the combined value of digital assets at approximately $2.17 trillion, down 1.59 percent from the previous day.
Total cryptocurrency turnover declined 16.35 percent to $61.68 billion over 24 hours, suggesting that investors were reducing exposure rather than aggressively buying into the market’s decline.
Bitcoin dominance remained at 58.31 percent, indicating that losses were distributed across the cryptocurrency market rather than concentrated solely in bitcoin.
Risk appetite weakens
Cryptocurrencies joined a broader retreat across global financial markets as investors reassessed the strength and sustainability of the artificial intelligence-driven technology rally.
Technology and semiconductor shares falling sharply across Asia before the selloff spread into European and U.S. futures markets.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 4 percent, while China’s CSI 300 declined 3.6 percent. U.S. Nasdaq futures fell 2.2 percent, indicating the technology-heavy index was heading for another difficult session on Wall Street.
The decline in technology shares added pressure to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which frequently trade alongside speculative and high-growth assets when investors adjust their exposure to risk.
Leveraged positions across technology and cryptocurrency markets can amplify such moves as falling prices force traders to reduce exposure or provide additional collateral.
Geopolitical tensions compounded the pressure generated by the technology selloff.
Threats to shipping through the Red Sea added to restrictions affecting oil movements through the Strait of Hormuz, increasing concerns about global energy supplies and inflation.
Brent crude rose 1.82 percent to $85.76 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 2.14 percent to $80.64.
Both crude benchmarks were nearly 13 percent higher for the week as traders priced in the risk of further disruption to major international shipping and energy routes.
Higher energy prices can revive inflationary pressure, reduce expectations for accommodative monetary policy and diminish the appeal of assets that benefit from abundant liquidity, including cryptocurrencies and high-growth technology shares.
Read more: Bitcoin falls below $63,000 as Fed policy signals weigh on crypto markets
Inflation relief fades
Bitcoin had climbed above $65,000 earlier in the week after softer U.S. inflation figures supported expectations that the Federal Reserve would avoid further monetary tightening in the near term.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index fell 0.4 percent in June after increasing 0.5 percent in May.
Annual inflation slowed to 3.5 percent from 4.2 percent, while core prices, which exclude food and energy, were unchanged during the month and increased 2.6 percent from a year earlier.
Those figures initially encouraged demand for cryptocurrencies and other risk assets by weakening the case for an interest rate increase at the Fed’s July meeting.
Friday’s oil surge complicated the improving inflation outlook. A prolonged rise in crude prices could increase transportation, production and consumer costs, making it more difficult for inflation to continue slowing.
The resulting uncertainty helped erase bitcoin’s midweek advance and drove investors toward less volatile assets.
ETF inflows continue
Institutional demand offered some support to the cryptocurrency market despite the deterioration in global risk sentiment.
Farside Investors’ daily data showed that U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $181.1 million in net inflows on July 14.
The funds attracted another $107.7 million on July 15 and $79.1 million on July 16, bringing cumulative inflows over the three sessions to $367.9 million.
However, the daily pace of inflows slowed throughout the period, suggesting that institutional investors were becoming increasingly cautious as the Middle East conflict escalated and global technology shares declined.
The positive three-day result followed $424.7 million in net withdrawals on July 13, illustrating the volatility of institutional flows and the speed at which investor sentiment can change.
ETF demand remains important because it provides regulated exposure to bitcoin for asset managers and investors who may not wish to hold or manage the cryptocurrency directly.
Treasury pressure builds
The longer-term backdrop remained challenging after bitcoin declined by as much as 33 percent during 2026.
Strategy, one of the world’s largest corporate holders of bitcoin, sold approximately $218 million of the cryptocurrency this year to fund dividend payments and replenish its U.S. dollar reserves.
The company also authorized up to $1.25 billion in additional bitcoin sales, highlighting the financial pressure that can emerge for digital-asset treasury companies when cryptocurrency prices weaken.
A regulatory filing detailed in market reports showed that Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoin for approximately $216 million during one week.
The company sold 1,363 bitcoin for $80.8 million and another 2,225 bitcoin for $135.2 million, reducing its holdings to 843,775 bitcoin as of July 5.
Strategy said the proceeds would help finance distributions on preferred shares and replenish the portion of its dollar reserve used for those payments.
Ether leads declines
Ether fell more sharply than bitcoin, losing 2.60 percent to trade at $1,836.38. Its 24-hour trading volume reached $11.18 billion.
Despite Friday’s decline, ether remained 2.20 percent higher over seven days, giving it one of the stronger weekly performances among the leading cryptocurrencies.
BNB declined 2.24 percent to $563.90 and was down 2.05 percent for the week.
XRP dropped 2.15 percent to $1.0846, extending its seven-day decline to 2.50 percent.
Solana fell 1.97 percent to $74.755 and recorded a significantly weaker weekly performance, losing 5.85 percent over seven days.
TRON proved more resilient than most other major cryptocurrencies, easing only 0.39 percent to $0.322695.
Hyperliquid drops sharply
Hyperliquid suffered the steepest daily decline among the leading assets in the market snapshot, plunging 8.46 percent to $60.335.
Its seven-day loss widened to 12.49 percent, indicating that the token had experienced sustained selling rather than a decline limited to Friday’s broader market retreat.
Dogecoin fell 1.78 percent to $0.071966, while UNUS SED LEO edged down 0.10 percent to $9.8099.
Zcash declined 2.41 percent to $533.49 but retained a seven-day gain of 6.77 percent, the strongest weekly advance among the cryptocurrencies included in the snapshot.
Stellar dropped 4 percent to $0.18383, while Chainlink declined 3.11 percent to $8.183.
Monero lost 2.53 percent to trade at $324.74, and Cardano eased 1.42 percent to $0.1606.
Canton fell 2.81 percent to $0.13004, while Bitcoin Cash slipped 0.26 percent to $221.62.
Weekly returns diverge
Weekly performance remained mixed despite the broadly negative moves recorded on Friday.
Chainlink retained a seven-day gain of 2.68 percent, while Monero remained 1.74 percent higher for the week.
Cardano lost 4.51 percent over seven days, extending its underperformance relative to several other large-cap cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Cash recorded one of the steepest weekly declines in the group, tumbling 10.20 percent despite its relatively modest daily loss.
The divergence reflected differences in positioning, token-specific demand and the extent of earlier gains. Assets that had attracted more speculative buying were generally more vulnerable when investors reduced risk.
The broad retreat across altcoins nevertheless showed that traders were becoming more defensive as geopolitical, monetary and technology-sector uncertainty increased.
Stablecoins hold pegs
Dollar-linked stablecoins remained close to their intended pegs as traders moved between cryptocurrencies and cash-equivalent digital assets.
Tether traded at $0.9997, down 0.04 percent. Its market capitalization stood at $184.03 billion, while 24-hour trading volume reached $52.38 billion.
USDC edged up 0.01 percent to $1.0008 and carried a market value of $73.20 billion.
Dai slipped 0.03 percent to $0.99825, with a market capitalization of $4.65 billion.
World Liberty Financial USD1 was unchanged at $0.9999 and had a market value of $4.25 billion.
The high trading volume in stablecoins reflected their central role as settlement and liquidity instruments. Investors frequently use them to reduce market exposure without transferring funds entirely out of cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Liquidity signals weaken
The 16.35 percent decline in overall cryptocurrency trading volume offered an important signal about the nature of Friday’s selloff.
A price decline accompanied by falling turnover can indicate that buyers are stepping away and liquidity is weakening, rather than showing the kind of forced liquidation associated with an abrupt surge in volume.
Bitcoin’s ability to remain around $63,000 despite the technology rout, rising oil prices and renewed Gulf conflict pointed to underlying demand from longer-term holders and ETF investors.
However, declining turnover and sharper losses among altcoins suggested that speculative appetite remained fragile.
Bitcoin’s 58.31 percent market dominance also showed that investors were favoring the largest cryptocurrency relative to smaller tokens, even though bitcoin itself remained under pressure.
Continued ETF inflows could provide a stabilizing force, but their slowing daily pace means they may not fully offset deteriorating sentiment if geopolitical risks intensify.
Weekend risks grow
The cryptocurrency market entered the weekend caught between continued institutional demand and an increasingly difficult macroeconomic environment.
Developments around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea will remain central because further disruption could push oil prices higher and revive expectations for tighter monetary policy.
Investors will also monitor global technology shares after the semiconductor selloff raised broader questions about valuations and the durability of the artificial intelligence investment cycle.
The next round of U.S. spot bitcoin ETF flow data will provide another indication of whether institutional investors are using the decline to increase exposure or becoming more defensive.
Bitcoin’s ability to reclaim $65,000 may depend on an improvement in global risk sentiment, moderating oil prices and sustained ETF inflows. Failure to hold near $63,000 could leave the cryptocurrency vulnerable to another test of its recent lows.
