Cryptocurrencies swung wildly during midday U.S. hours on Monday, with bitcoin
briefly sliding back below $100,000 on news reports that Iran could be preparing to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Other major cryptos also erased a part of their gains: Ethereum’s ether
fell below $2,200, while XRP plunged back below $2 before stabilizing around those round-number levels. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index, having lost around 3% during the U.S. morning session, was still slightly up over the past 24 hours.
At press time, bitcoin had returned to modestly above the $100,000 mark. The Sunday low in prices was at roughly $98,500.
Axios reported that the Trump administration was preparing for Iran to attack U.S. bases in the Gulf in retaliation for the U.S. military bombarding three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. American bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait were targeted.
The report noted the president as imminently set to meet with his national security team to discuss the threat.
“Bitcoin’s recent fall is being driven by a potent mix of geopolitical tension and macro uncertainty,” said Kirill Kretov, senior automation expert at CoinPanel. “As conflict in the Middle East escalates, global risk appetite has sharply declined.”
