Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a substantial decline of more than 8.4% on April 13, following an attack by Iran on Israel, which intensified geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Within minutes of the attack, the cryptocurrency’s price plummeted from approximately $67,000 to $61,625, causing a loss of over $130 million in market capitalization.
The negative impact of the attack extended to other cryptocurrencies as well. At the time of writing, Ether (ETH) had dropped by 9.81% to $2,927, while Solana (SOL) had sunk by 15.96% to $129. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the global market capitalization of the crypto market also decreased by 8.19% to $2.23 trillion.
Bloomberg reported that Iran launched drones towards Israel on Saturday as a response to an earlier attack conducted by Israel. The Israeli airstrike targeted a diplomatic compound in Damascus, Syria, resulting in the deaths of seven Iranians, including two generals.
In addition to the airstrikes, Iranian authorities reportedly seized a cargo ship owned by an Israeli billionaire. United States President Joe Biden issued a warning on April 12, stating that Iran would launch attacks “sooner than later” and emphasizing the US’s commitment to supporting and defending Israel.
The conflict between Iran and Israel has significantly escalated tensions in the region, a situation that the US has reportedly been trying to prevent since the Israel-Hamas conflict in October. US officials have been urging Israel not to escalate tensions in its responses to Iran, according to a government source cited by CNN. The officials also expressed frustration with the lack of prior information provided by Israel regarding the airstrike in Damascus. Israel only notified a US official when its planes were already en route to Syria, the sources revealed.
“We were not aware that Israel was going to carry out this airstrike in advance,” the official stated. “Israel reached out to a US official minutes before it happened, when their planes were already in the air, to say they were conducting a strike in Syria. However, they did not provide any details about the targets or location, and the strike was already underway before the information could be relayed through the US government.”