Bitcoin held near $63,800 on Monday, while gold, oil, equities, and government bonds all slid after the U.S. launched its fourth round of strikes on Iran within a week. The largest cryptocurrency was down just 0.3% over 24 hours, though it remained up 2% on the week.
The traditional market reaction, which had been on hold over the weekend, arrived all at once. Spot gold dropped up to 1.6%, nearing $4,050 an ounce. Brent crude jumped 4% to above $79 a barrel as conflicting reports about the Strait of Hormuz stirred fears over supply. Treasuries fell across the curve, pushing the two-year yield to its highest since February 2025. The MSCI Asia Pacific equities index declined 1.6%.
U.S. strikes and supply concerns
Central Command said U.S. forces struck Iran in response to an attack on a container ship. The status of the Strait of Hormuz remained unclear. The U.S. denied Iran’s statement that the waterway would close until further notice. Roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil normally passes through Hormuz.
The moves priced a single fear: a wider war could keep oil elevated and force the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates higher for longer. Minutes from the Fed’s June meeting showed a few policymakers saw a case for raising rates before ultimately backing a hold. Gold fell because a higher-for-longer path lifts real yields and dulls the appeal of metal that pays no interest. Bonds fell for the same reason.
Bitcoin sits out the chaos
But bitcoin barely reacted. Ether was little changed at about $1,800, up 2% on the week. Other major cryptocurrencies moved only slightly, with Solana the weakest at $76, down 5% over seven days. XRP held at $1.09, and dogecoin stayed near $0.07.
The only crypto-relevant thread ran through Korean stocks. SK Hynix shares plunged 12% in Seoul after the chipmaker’s U.S.-listed shares surged 13% on their Friday debut. That reversal helped drag the Kospi index down 7%. The chip trade had driven the rally that lifted bitcoin on Friday, and its sharp reversal on Monday still left crypto flat in either direction.
Bitcoin has now held a tight range through a weekend of strikes, a Monday selloff in nearly every asset that usually reacts to war, and a hawkish repricing of the Fed. That marks a change for a market that once sold off quickly on a single Hormuz headline. It appears bitcoin is no longer trading the war at all, taking its direction instead from dollar liquidity and the chip cycle, while oil, gold, and rates do the reacting.
