Bitcoin (BTC) is showing some resilience and remains above the key threshold of $70,000 U.S. despite signs of continued trouble in the Middle East.
Crude oil prices are spiking and stocks around the world are sinking after the U.S. and Iran failed to make progress in peace talks held over the weekend.
The U.S. military is now planning to blockade the Strait of Hormuz where 20% of the world’s crude oil is typically shipped.
That news has crude oil prices up 8% and trading back above $100 U.S. a barrel. At the same time, U.S. equities are deep in the red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 500 points.
However, Bitcoin is only down slightly and trading at $70,800 U.S. early on April 13.
Bitcoin rallied over the past week after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire in their ongoing war, getting as high as $73,000 U.S.
Many analysts had expected Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to mirror growth stocks and rise and fall based on the situation in the Middle East.
But now, BTC is showing surprising resilience and staying above $70,000 U.S., a level analysts say is critical for a sustained rally to be achieved in the cryptocurrency.
Some analysts say that Bitcoin’s resilience is due to a resurgence of interest from larger institutional investors. Others say the market is trying to move on from the Iran war’s headlines.
Bitcoin fell as low as $65,000 U.S. at the outset of the Iran war on Feb. 28 and remains down substantially from an all-time high of $126,000 U.S. reached last October.
