Bitcoin Price Plunges Nearly 9% to $60K as Investors Respond to Middle East Tensions

The world's most prominent digital currency fell to roughly $60,150 in the late afternoon, according to Coinbase data provided by TradingView.

Bitcoin prices fell on Friday evening as investors reacted to the latest geopolitical developments.

After hitting a high of more than $66,000 two days ago, BTC fell to around $60,150 in the late afternoon, according to Coinbase data provided by TradingView.

At this point, the cryptocurrency had declined close to 9% since reaching the above level.

stocks also fell on friday. At the time of this writing, the benchmark S&P 500 was down close to 1% for the day, according to Google Finance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index containing 30 stocks, had fallen 0.41%, additional Google Finance figures reveal.

Meanwhile, Brent futures contracts pushed higher, rising around 2.6% to settle above $73, according to Reuters.

In explaining these latest price movements, several analysts highlighted the recent geopolitical turmoil that has taken place in the Middle East.

Earlier today, Iran attacked Israel, launching dozens of missiles at crucial targets in the latter nation, according to Al Jazeera.

In response, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, pledged to retaliate, according to Reuters.

“Concerns from investors over global instability, including in the middle east, have shaken the risk-on markets from the S&P 500 to the Nasdaq to Bitcoin,” Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund manager BitBull Capital, said via email.

Julio Moreno, head of research for CryptoQuant, offered a similar assessment.

“Hello Charles, today’s price action seems to be dominated by the situation in the Middle East,” he said via Telegram.

“It also hit the stock market and oil (to the upside),” Moreno added.

While the aforementioned analysts focused on geopolitical developments, another analyst took a different view.

“This drop is a bit of a strange one,” Tim Enneking, managing partner of Psalion, stated through email.

“Part of the reason is due to end-of-month profit taking, especially after a month which has historically been the worst for BTC and other tokens; part is due to options expiring, again at the end of the month; and part is due to BTC being overbought, especially in relation to other tokens as BTC dominance hit a yearly high,” he clarified.

“In short, it’s a bit of a breather after an unexpectedly solid month,” Enneking added.

Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether, EOS and SOL.