The Bitcoin and Ethereum prices plunged sharply over the weekend as missiles flew across the Middle East, exposing just how quickly geopolitical crises can send shockwaves through the financial markets. A joint US and Israel strike on Iran triggered a violent selloff that wiped out billions of dollars from the crypto market in a matter of hours. Fresh reports now indicate that Bitcoin and Ethereum are beginning to recover. Still, with geopolitical tensions continuing to escalate, it remains uncertain whether this renewed momentum can be sustained. 

Bitcoin Price Recovers After US-Israel War Fueled Crash

Geopolitical shockwaves rattled global financial markets this past weekend as a joint US and Israeli military operation against Iran sent Bitcoin into a sharp but brief decline, wiping out millions of dollars in long positions before a partial recovery took hold. Notably, BTC plummeted to nearly $63,000 overnight following the coordinated strikes on Iranian military targets. 

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Within 45 minutes of Israel launching its assault, Bitcoin shed $2,500 in value, while more than $200 million worth of long positions were liquidated in just one hour. The broader crypto market saw roughly $72 billion wiped out amid the chaos. The sell-off was swift and severe, with major exchange players including Binance, Coinbase, and trading firm Winternute offloading more than $3.5 billion in Bitcoin within a 20-minute window. This further added downward pressure to the already declining and volatile market.

Despite the carnage, Bitcoin has since climbed back above $66,000, according to CoinMarketCap data, though volatility remains elevated as the Middle East conflict shows no signs of immediate resolution. 

Market analysts were quick to explain the technical reasons behind BTC’s price decline. One expert noted that Bitcoin did not crash for no reason. She explained that because it was the most accessible and highest volume asset that trades around the clock, it was significantly exposed to weekend fear and panic selling compared to other major asset classes. 

Ethereum Price Rebounds After Massive Sell-Off

Ethereum also took a hit alongside Bitcoin following news of the US-Israel war. ETH dropped roughly 10% within just one hour of the news breaking, falling below $1,900 and erasing all the gains it had made when it briefly touched $2,000 last week. At its lowest point, Ethereum fell to around $1,850 before rebounding back above $1,950. 

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Notably, the crash triggered sharp declines in Ethereum derivatives markets, with millions of dollars in liquidations. A large percentage of those liquidations came from long positions, suggesting that traders who had bet on Ethereum rising were hit the hardest. 

In the broader context, the Ethereum price was already experiencing a downturn, meaning the geopolitical shock had compounded an already painful downtrend for ETH holders. In addition to Ethereum, other altcoins, such as XRP, saw major sell-offs as geopolitical tensions rose.

Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

Bitcoin’s price action this month has left traders watching closely as big players double down on bullish calls. According to VanEck’s research, the investment firm has reaffirmed a $180,000 year-end target even after Bitcoin slid from a recent high, a sign that some institutional buyers are not backing away despite a pullback.

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Institutional Buying Remains Heavy

Reports have disclosed heavy accumulation in July. Exchange-traded products bought 54,000 BTC while Digital Asset Treasuries added 72,000 BTC, giving clear evidence that large holders continue to pile in.

VanEck first laid out its bullish view in November 2024 when Bitcoin traded around $88,000. At the same time, US-listed miners now account for 31% of global Bitcoin hashrate, up from roughly 30% earlier this year, even as equity index fell 4% when excluding Applied Digital’s 50% jump.

Price Moves Show Volatility And Quick Recovery

Bitcoin slid to $112,000 in early August before jumping back to $124,000 on August 13. That move set a new all-time high above July’s $123,838.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades close to $115K, roughly 8% below that recent peak. Traders describe the pullback as a repositioning after a run-up, not an obvious breakdown.

Source: VanEck

Derivatives metrics back the picture of rising speculative interest. CME basis funding rates have surged to 10%, the highest level since February 2025.

Options markets show call/put ratios hitting 3.21x, the strongest since June 2024, with investors spending $792 million on call premiums.

Yet implied volatility has compressed to 32%, well under the one-year average of 50%, which makes options cheaper for buyers.

On the other hand, futures open interest sits over $6 billion, though a $2.3 billion unwind in open interest during recent corrections ranks among the larger single-session moves.

Source: VanEck

Voices Split On How High Bitcoin Could Go

Executives and analysts disagree on the pace and peak of the rally. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong joined figures such as Jack Dorsey and Cathie Wood in suggesting Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2030, citing clearer rules and wider institutional adoption.

Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz warned that a million-dollar level would more likely reflect severe US economic stress than normal market strength.

Preston Pysh flagged concerns about how Wall Street’s growing role might change Bitcoin’s use and culture.

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Support Levels And Technical

Technically, many market watchers view the $100,000-$110,000 range as key support. A decisive break below $112,000 could push prices toward $110,000 and, in a deeper move, $105,000.

For now, the story is mixed. Institutional demand and speculative derivatives flows are pushing price pressure higher, while cheap options and compressed volatility make bullish bets less costly.

Whether that combination lifts Bitcoin to VanEck’s $180,000 target will depend on continued inflows and whether key support holds.

Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC) miners are facing intense heat with the growing cost of production with many now selling their BTC holdings.

Bitcoin Miner Revenue Slump: the Post-Halving Drawdown

Blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant recently identified a significant uptick in mining pool transfers. This is in addition to a surge in Over-the-counter (OTC) desk sales.

#Bitcoin miners are under pressure and they’ve begun selling.

Let’s explore the recent uptick in mining pool transfers, the surge in OTC desk sales, and why even major publicly traded mining companies are reducing their holdings.

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) June 13, 2024

Top crypto analyst, Ali Martinez on X linked this current market outlook to the Bitcoin halving event that went live in April. Precisely, Ali stated that the mining cost for the lead cryptocurrency grew significantly right after the halving. Currently, it cost an average of $77,000 to mine a single $BTC today.

“This spike in expenses has led to a wave of capitulation among #BTC miners in the past month,” Ali Charts mentioned.

These Bitcoin miners have ramped up selling as the price of Bitcoin fluctuates between $69,000 to $71,000. At the time of this writing, BTC was trading at $66,618.03 with a drop of 4.39% in the last 24 hours. A few days ago, transfers from mining pools to Binance surged to the point that it hit a 2-month peak of over 3,000 BTC. This shift is in alignment with a price correction that dropped Bitcoin to $66,000.

The situation is the same on OTC desks as the platform also saw a surge in sales. On Monday, miners sold 1,200 Bitcoin through OTC desks, marking the highest daily volume in over two months. Several United States Bitcoin companies have been busy offloading their Bitcoin holdings.

With June just two weeks gone, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc has offloaded 1,400 Bitcoins compared to May when it sold only 390 units. The sales represents 8% of its Bitcoin holdings.

Low Mining Revenue Triggers Selling Pressure 

Miners are selling because of the negative turn that mining revenue took post-halving. In March, just around the time that Bitcoin hit its current all-time-high (ATH), miners revenue sat at $78 million. Today, this value has dropped by approximately 55% and is now at $35,000. This plunge in miners’ revenue is fueling the selling activity.

It is worth noting that Bitcoin transactions fees have also dropped reasonably to around 65 Bitcoin from 117 prior to April 18.

There are several expectations that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of June, however the selling pressure may impact negatively on the price in the short-term. With time, it is expected that the market would balance out with more liquidity.

At this point, BTC could head for its bull run if the demand from spot Bitcoin ETF issuers remains intact.

Read More: FINMA Orders Closure of Crypto Bank FlowBank, Begins Liquidation

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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture. Follow him on Twitter, Linkedin

The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.