Bitcoin's slide below $104k liquidates over $500M as war tensions escalate

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its pullback on June 17, sliding over 4% amid renewed military and political friction between Israel and Iran.

The flagship crypto fell to an intraday low of $103,300 before bulls stepped in to steady the price and push it back above $104,000,

As of press time, Bitcoin was trading at $104,439, down roughly 3.87% over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the wider crypto market fared relatively worse with a 6% average decline across the board. 

The impact on altcoins is highlighted by the nearly $508 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours, with over $167 million attributed to Ethereum (ETH) positions, according to Coinglass data.

ETH was trading at $2,471.72 as of press time, down 5.58% over the past 24 hours, while XRP was trading at $2.16 after a 6% decline. BNB saw significantly lower volatility over the same period and was down around 1.6% over the past day and trading at $647.77 as of press time.

Solana was down 5.6% and trading at $148.77 as of press time, while Cardano was down 5.6% to $0.6175.

Middle East tensions escalate

Price action was directly linked to the outbreak of fresh hostilities in the Middle East. Israel said its forces killed a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander in Tehran early on June 17.

This latest strike in a five-day exchange that has involved missiles, drones, and warnings to civilians.

In Washington, President Donald Trump posted that the US “knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader is hiding” and demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” escalating rhetoric around possible US involvement.

Traders watch as the prospect of wider regional conflict instigates risk aversion across global assets, including crypto.

Viable hedge

Analysts recently highlighted Bitcoin’s relative strength, calling it a viable alternative to increase a hedge in portfolios.

Ecoinometrics found that adding a 10% Bitcoin sleeve to a classic 60/40 allocation lifted the past-year risk-adjusted return to 0.80 with a 14% gain, versus 0.62 and 12% for the same swap into gold. 

Fidelity strategists Chris Kuiper and Jurrien Timmer say that persistent inflation and policy uncertainty have weakened the hedging role of bonds, making scarce digital assets such as Bitcoin an increasingly favored ballast in diversified portfolios.

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