Bitcoin ticks up even as Trump’s Iran war threats cloud markets
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Bitcoin has remained relatively stable compared with other assets.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Bitcoin rose in early Asia trading on April 6 while investors grappled with fresh threats from US President Donald Trump about attacking Iranian infrastructure.
The original cryptocurrency was up as much as 2.8 per cent, trading around US$69,200 at 10.45am in Singapore. Ether, the second-largest digital asset, rose as much as 3.7 per cent. S&P 500 futures were up 0.4 per cent, while similar contracts were up 0.7 per cent on Hyperliquid, where investors can trade tokenised contracts tracking other assets.
“Crypto markets had been weak over the extended weekend, and oil had also risen quite strongly,” said Mr Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM.
“There was a rally in S&P 500 futures on Hyperliquid early today, and then, as the opening of traditional S&P 500 futures was relatively muted, the markets rebounded somewhat.”
Mr Trump, on April 5, issued increasingly aggressive threats on social media, saying the US would bring “hell” to Iran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway that has been largely closed since the start of the war.
Mr Trump suggested that attacks on Iranian power plants could begin as soon as April 7 if the strait is not opened.
Oil prices crept up on concerns that an end to the war may not be on the horizon, trading at US$110 a barrel.
For weeks, Bitcoin has remained stuck roughly between US$65,000 and US$75,000. It has been unable to shake consistent downward pressure since a sell-off in October, leaving it down about 45 per cent from its peak above US$126,000 that month.
Yet other than a dip when the US and Israel initiated a bombing campaign against Iran at the end of February, the cryptocurrency has remained relatively stable compared with other assets.
About US$195.6 million (S$251 million) of bearish bets were unwound for cryptocurrencies in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass data. Yet, flows into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have remained resilient, seeing US$22.3 million in inflows last week.
“Bitcoin’s rise appears driven by steady spot demand, with ETF flows remaining firm,” said Ms Gracie Lin, chief executive of crypto exchange OKX SG.
“Price action remains orderly, and funding is contained, suggesting the move is being led by incremental allocation rather than leverage.”
She added that demand could weaken if Bitcoin breaks below a support level of US$65,000 to US$66,000. BLOOMBERG
