Bitcoin edged higher during Asian trading on Friday, holding above the important $70,000 threshold, despite investors remaining cautious amid rising tensions in the Middle East that pushed oil prices higher and created uncertainty around global inflation and interest rate expectations.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was up 0.30 percent to $71,107 by 7:51 GMT, after briefly climbing past $74,000 earlier in the week. Despite the pullback, it remained on course for a weekly gain of about 7 percent.
Crypto market sentiment remains fragile
Crypto market sentiment remained fragile as geopolitical tensions escalated following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which prompted retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region as the conflict entered its seventh day.
The war has also raised concerns about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy chokepoint that typically handles around 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, sending shockwaves through commodity markets.
Oil prices have climbed sharply since the escalation began, rising more than 18 percent this week amid fears that prolonged conflict could disrupt supply.
The surge in crude prices has renewed worries about a fresh wave of global inflation, complicating the outlook for monetary policy. Investors have begun scaling back expectations for near-term interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve, as higher energy costs could keep inflation elevated.
This shift in rate expectations has supported the U.S. dollar, which strengthened this week and added pressure on several risk assets. The stronger greenback also weighed on commodities, with gold heading for a weekly decline despite persistent geopolitical tensions.
Even so, bitcoin has shown relative resilience, managing to hold above the psychologically significant $70,000 level despite the broader risk-off environment.
Read: Bitcoin trades above $72,000 on improved risk appetite as Ether climbs to $2,117.48
Altcoins slip as Bitcoin remains resilient
Most altcoins declined on Friday as Bitcoin remained resilient, extending losses as caution continued to dominate the market.
The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, fell 3 percent to $2,069.03.
XRP, the third-largest crypto by market value, dropped 1.8 percent to $1.39.
Solana slipped 1.6 percent, while Cardano and Polygon each declined 2.5 percent
Among meme coins, Dogecoin edged down 1.8 percent.
