Crypto Rally Fizzles on Iran Escalation Fears

Crypto markets started Friday firmly in the green, but erased most of their gains after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon is moving more troops and warships to the Middle East, signaling a potential escalation in the ongoing conflict.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $71,200, up 2% over the past 24 hours. The world’s largest cryptocurrency touched $74,000 before reversing. Meanwhile, ETH is up 2.2% to $2,100, and SOL is up 3% to $89.

The overall crypto market capitalization climbed 1.1% to $2.51 trillion, according to Coingecko.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted minor losses, while oil held steady around $95 and precious metals dropped.

Most of the Top 100 digital assets posted gains over the last 24 hours, with AI-linked tokens leading the charge.

Today’s top gainers are TRUMP, which surged 30%, followed by RENDER, which climbed another 14%, pushing its weekly gains to 36%.

Pi Network (PI) and MORPHO are the biggest losers.

Around 107,000 leveraged traders were liquidated for $448 million in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass, with short positions dominating. Bitcoin accounted for $203 million, while ETH positions made up $128 million.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded inflows of $54 million on Thursday, marking a fourth straight day of gains.