Newswire-Style Recap with Emphasis on Institutional Focus
Bitcoin Climbs Back to $106K Amid Geopolitical Unrest, Analysts Flag Risk of Further Downside
Bitcoin briefly rebounded to $106,000 Friday after dipping to $102,600 during early trading hours, as escalating conflict between Israel and Iran rattled risk assets. The rally faded later in the day following new reports of targeted airstrikes on Iranian military infrastructure. BTC was recently trading at $105,200, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours.
The broader crypto market mirrored Bitcoin’s volatility. The CoinDesk 20 Index fell 4.4%, with Ether, Avalanche, and Toncoin losing between 6% and 8%. Selling pressure was broad-based, driven by profit-taking and growing investor caution.
While crypto equities struggled—Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms fell 5% and 4%, respectively—Circle (CIRCL) rallied 13% on reports that Amazon and Walmart are exploring stablecoin integrations. The news fueled speculation that stablecoins may soon see large-scale retail adoption, potentially benefitting Circle’s ecosystem.
Traditional markets were largely stable. Gold rose 1.3%, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped only 0.4%, suggesting geopolitical risks have yet to fully price into equity valuations.
Analysts remain divided. 10x Research’s Markus Thielen warned of a failed breakout below $106,000, identifying the $100K–$101K zone as key support. A breach, he said, could trigger a return to last year’s consolidation range.
Ledn CIO John Glover projected deeper losses toward the $88K–$93K range, calling it a healthy corrective setup in a larger bullish structure, with a path to $130,000 once the pattern plays out.
