Bitcoin Pulls Back as Israel-Iran Clashes Send Oil Toward $100

Renewed military exchanges between Israel and Iran over the weekend pushed oil prices higher, pressured equities and coincided with a pullback in Bitcoin. Brent crude rose to $97.15 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate reached $94.61, while Bitcoin slipped from an intraday peak of $64,128 to roughly $63,316 by press time.

Israeli forces carried out targeted air raids in central and western Iran, striking infrastructure including a petrochemical facility in Isfahan and sites in Tehran and Tabriz. Iran fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward northern Israel; military reports said most were intercepted or landed in uninhabited areas. Iranian authorities described the missile launches as retaliation for a prior operation in southern Beirut that killed two people and wounded about 20 at a militant command center.

The clashes followed a two-month pause in direct strikes and altered diplomatic messaging. President Donald Trump said he was distancing his administration from the Israeli prime minister’s tactical choices, stating, “I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.” In Tehran, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rejected the prospect of an immediate ceasefire and warned that naval blockades and perceived U.S. support for Israeli actions had made American assets in the region legitimate targets.

The immediate market reaction focused on energy. Both major crude benchmarks rose more than 4% on the session, reversing a late-week selloff and reflecting concerns about potential disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have climbed sharply since the wider regional conflict began in late February.

Equity markets moved defensively. Asian shares were hit hard over the session, with South Korea’s benchmark index falling by more than 8% before trading was halted.

Cryptocurrency markets responded to the same risk-off shift. Bitcoin had lost about 16% during the prior week and briefly traded below $60,000. A short squeeze over the weekend pushed prices up to the intraday high near $64,128, but the rally reversed as risk appetite waned and prices moved back toward $63,316.

Market structure factors contributed to the crypto retreat. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products recorded more than $4 billion in outflows in recent sessions and a high-profile corporate seller executed its first Bitcoin sale since 2022, reducing available demand. Aggregate futures open interest contracted from about $1.65 billion to $1.55 billion even as prices ticked higher, while funding rates remained positive.

Axel Adler, an analyst at an on-chain data provider, noted the pattern of higher prices with lower open interest and positive funding, describing the weekend action as mechanical deleveraging driven by short-covering rather than fresh leveraged buying. Crypto research firm 10x Research cautioned that after the prior week’s selloff Bitcoin remained technically oversold and that a brief bounce did not indicate a sustained recovery. Joao Wedson, chief executive of an analytics firm, reported social metrics placing the market in an “Extreme Fear” category and rising panic-related search activity.

Analysts said that without renewed spot demand, Bitcoin could revisit the $60,000 area. Oil’s renewed strength and the broader risk-off shift remained central to market moves across commodities, equities and digital assets.