Major virtual assets, including Bitcoin, are showing renewed weakness as tensions in the Middle East escalate, leading to a freeze in investor sentiment.
According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was trading at $63,526 as of 8 a.m. on July 8, down 0.90% from the previous day. Although Bitcoin had recently recovered to the $64,000 range, it has given back some of those gains.
Other major altcoins also experienced declines. Ethereum fell 1.45% to $1,776, while Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 1.50% to $578.24. Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL) traded at $1.11 and $80.90, down 2.73% and 1.44%, respectively.
Market analysts attribute the decline in risk asset investment sentiment, including virtual assets, to the increasing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the U.S. Central Command announced on July 7 via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that it had launched a series of strong airstrikes against Iran to impose a heavy cost for targeting commercial vessels carrying innocent civilians in international waters.
On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) revoked a 60-day temporary general license issued on June 21 that allowed for the production, delivery, and sale of Iranian oil, effectively withdrawing the sanctions exemption on Iranian oil.
As a result, international oil prices surged. Brent crude for September delivery and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery closed at $74.16 and $70.44 per barrel, marking increases of 3.01% and 2.76%, respectively. This represents the largest rise since June 1.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Bitcoin was trading at approximately 9,523,000 won ($62,713) on the domestic exchange Bithumb, up 3.33% from the previous day. The 'Kimchi Premium' was recorded at -1.22%, indicating that the price of Bitcoin traded domestically is lower than that in international markets.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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