After chopping around early Wednesday, bitcoin BTC$66,123.06 rolled over during the U.S. afternoon and slid to session lows under $66,000, putting pressure back on the lower end of its recent range.

Having traded $68,500 overnight, BTC was down 2.5% over the past 24 hours and last trading at $66,200.

Crypto stocks, which started the day on a stronger foot, followed suit, paring back their gains or snapping into declines across the board. Most notable was Coinbase (COIN), which turned its 3% morning advance into a 2% decline by the afternoon. Strategy (MSTR), he largest corporate holder of bitcoin, was down roughly 3% as the underlying asset weakened.

After a fast start to the session, U.S. stocks had given back much of their gains shortly before the close of trading. Not helping were surprisingly hawkish minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). As expected, most at the central bank agreed with the decision to pause rate cuts, but — in a twist — several suggested the Fed favor “two-sided” guidance at which the bank might opt to hike rates if inflation continues to remain sticky.

Already higher for the day, the U.S. dollar gathered even more strength, with the dollar index (DXY) — which measures the greenback against a basket of major foreign currencies — climbing to its strongest level in nearly two weeks. A firmer dollar often weighs on risk assets, and Wednesday’s crypto fade appeared to fit that pattern.

With today’s slide, bitcoin is now staring at a fifth straight week of losses, its worst streak since the long 2022 bear market.

It also faces a key test at current levels. The $66,000 area held as support last week and helped fuel a bounce above $70,000. If that floor gives way decisively, traders will likely start eyeing the early February lows at $60,000 or a fresh leg lower.

Key Takeaways

• Liability Shield: Coin Center argues that developers who do not control assets should not be treated as money transmitters.
• Senate Standoff: The Senate Judiciary Committee is blocking the clause, citing enforcement concerns over platforms like Tornado Cash.
• Procedural Roadblock: The dispute has stalled the broader market structure bill, delaying regulatory clarity.

Global markets are reacting sharply to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as reports suggest the US could be moving closer to a direct military confrontation with Iran.

Safe-haven assets such as gold and silver are climbing, oil prices are rising on supply fears, and Bitcoin is slipping as traders rotate away from risk-sensitive assets.

Iran Military Buildup Fuels Market Anxiety

Recent intelligence and media reports indicate that any potential conflict would not be a limited strike. Rather, it would be a broader, weeks-long campaign if launched, raising concerns about prolonged volatility across commodities, equities, and crypto.

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According to Axios analysis, evidence is mounting that a conflict could be imminent, with Israel reportedly preparing for a scenario of “war within days,” which could involve a “weeks-long ‘full-fledged’ war” and a joint US–Israeli campaign broader in scope than previous operations.

The same report noted that US forces in the region now include “2 aircraft carriers, 12 warships, hundreds of fighter jets, and multiple air defense systems.” This is in addition to more than 150 cargo flights transporting weapons and ammunition.

Oil prices reportedly surged above $64 per barrel following the news.

Separate commentary similarly described the US as being on the brink of a large-scale conflict, with stalled nuclear negotiations and a growing military presence increasing the risk of imminent action.

The assessment suggested that strikes could come within weeks if diplomacy collapses, with Donald Trump’s advisers continuing talks but failing to close key gaps.

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Commodity markets have been the most immediate beneficiaries of the rising geopolitical risk premium.

Analysts tracking market moves reported that gold, silver, and oil all advanced as tensions escalated. Silver posted some of the strongest gains among major assets.

“The precious metals sector has so far been the primary beneficiary of heightened US attack concerns,” commented commodities strategist Ole Hansen, adding that gold is trading above $5,000 while silver and platinum have also recorded significant gains.

Oil markets are also reacting to the possibility of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply moves.

Even the perception of risk to this route tends to trigger sharp price swings, amplifying volatility across energy markets.

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Bitcoin Slips as Risk Appetite Weakens

While traditional safe havens rallied, cryptocurrencies moved in the opposite direction. Bitcoin fell below the critical support of $67,014 and was trading for $66,384 as of this writing.

This divergence, where Bitcoin slumps while gold, silver, and oil advance, reflects a broader risk-off shift in investor sentiment.

The divergence highlights a recurring pattern in periods of geopolitical stress: capital often flows first into commodities and cash-like instruments before returning to higher-beta assets such as crypto.

Debate Over the Likelihood and Consequences of War

Despite the buildup, some analysts remain skeptical that a full-scale war will materialize. Nigerian tech entrepreneur Mark Essien argued that a prolonged conflict would be far more complex than previous campaigns.

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Based on this, Essien warns that Iran’s drone capabilities and potential insurgency could make the situation difficult to resolve quickly. Meanwhile, domestic opposition in the US is also visible.

“Americans do not want to go to war with Iran!!! They want to be able to afford their lives and get ahead,” wrote former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

At the same time, geopolitical risks may be expanding beyond a bilateral confrontation. Reports cited by defense analysts suggest that China could be providing Iran with intelligence and navigation support, potentially complicating the regional strategic balance.

With peace talks continuing but showing little sign of a breakthrough, markets are preparing for prolonged uncertainty. Traders are increasingly pricing in the possibility that any military action would be larger, longer, and more disruptive than recent conflicts.

It explains why commodities are reflecting fear, cryptos are reflecting caution, and global investors are watching diplomatic developments closely.

Whether diplomacy prevails or tensions escalate further may determine the direction of oil and gold, as well as the next major trend across global financial markets.

DerivaDEX has launched a Bermuda-licensed crypto derivatives platform, becoming what it says is the first DAO-governed decentralized exchange to operate under formal regulatory approval.

According to a statement from the platform, the exchange received a T license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority and has begun offering crypto perpetual swaps trading to a limited number of advanced retail and institutional participants.

The BMA’s T, or test license, is issued for a digital asset business seeking to test a proof of concept.

At launch, DerivaDEX supports major crypto perpetual products and said it plans to expand into additional markets, including prediction markets and traditional securities. The company said the platform combines offchain order matching with onchain settlement to Ethereum, while allowing users to retain noncustodial control of funds.

DerivaDEX also said the platform, developed by DEXLabs, uses encrypted order handling and trusted execution environments, which are intended to mitigate front-running and other forms of market manipulation.

A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, is a blockchain-based governance structure in which token holders collectively vote on decisions according to rules encoded in smart contracts rather than relying on a traditional management hierarchy.

Related: Fed paper proposes initial margin weights for crypto-linked derivatives

Traditional asset managers move into DeFi infrastructure

DerivaDEX’s launch comes as traditional asset managers are increasingly engaging with decentralized finance infrastructure on public blockchains.

On Feb. 11, BlackRock made its tokenized US Treasury product, the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), available on the decentralized exchange Uniswap. The move allows institutional investors to trade the tokenized fund onchain, and included BlackRock purchasing an undisclosed amount of Uniswap’s governance token, UNI.

A few days later, Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire up to 90 million governance tokens of decentralized finance protocol Morpho over four years, representing 9% of the token’s 1 billion total supply. The $940 billion asset manager said the agreement includes supporting Morpho’s decentralized lending infrastructure.