Bitcoin experienced a significant drop of more than 8.4% on April 13 due to an attack launched by Iran on Israel, intensifying geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Following news of the attack, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted from approximately $67,000 to $61,625, resulting in a loss of over $130 million in market capitalization within minutes.
This sell-off also impacted other cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, Ether (ETH) had declined by 9.81% to $2,927, while Solana (SOL) sank by 15.96% to $129. According to CoinMarketCap data, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased by 8.19% to $2.23 trillion.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Iran launched drones towards Israel on Saturday, April 13, in retaliation for an earlier attack by Israel on a diplomatic compound in Damascus, Syria. This Israeli attack resulted in the deaths of seven Iranians, including two generals.
In addition to the airstrikes, Iranian authorities have reportedly seized a cargo ship owned by an Israeli billionaire.
On April 12, United States President Joe Biden issued a warning that Iran would launch attacks “sooner than later” and emphasized the U.S.’s commitment to defending Israel, stating, “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel, we will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed.”
The conflict between Iran and Israel has significantly heightened tensions in the region. The U.S. has reportedly been attempting to prevent such escalation since the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which have led to an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
U.S. officials have been urging Israel not to further escalate tensions in their response to Iran, according to a government source cited by CNN. The officials have also expressed frustration with the lack of prior information provided by Israel regarding its airstrike in Damascus. Sources stated that Israel only informed a U.S. official when its planes were already en route to Syria.
“We were not aware that Israel was going to carry out this airstrike in advance,” the official stated. “Minutes before it happened and when Israeli planes were already in the air, Israel reached out to a U.S. official to say they were in the process of conducting a strike in Syria. It did not include any details on who they were targeting or where it would be conducted, and the strike was already underway before word could be passed through the U.S. government.”