Bitcoin was trading at $72,211.77, up 0.6% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum rose 1.0% to $2,052.83, while Binance Coin gained 1.6% to $651.07. Major altcoins were mixed, with XRP down 0.1%, Solana up 1.0%, ADA up 0.3%, Dogecoin down 1.6%, Shiba Inu up 1.6%, Tron up 2.0%, and Sui up 2.4%.
Geopolitical tensions have not produced a safe-haven bid for crypto, with experts stressing near-term volatility. Sebastian Cerano Ripio, CEO of Ripio, argued energy-price rises can fuel inflation and delay rate cuts, limiting liquidity that would support Bitcoin gains. Lawrence Frausen of Kaiko added that Bitcoin is closer to a risk asset than an inflation hedge and reacts sharply to geopolitical shocks.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, said it is not yet time to actively buy Bitcoin, although past conflicts in the Middle East have often led to Fed liquidity expansions. He cautioned that prolonged tensions could spark stock-market selloffs that push Bitcoin toward $60,000.
On the upside, Bitcoin has shown resilience as major indices pause, testing the $70,000 level, with its correlation to software shares weakening and gold’s correlation turning positive. Institutional demand appears resilient, with BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF IBIT drawing nearly $1 billion in inflows in March. Alternative data show the fear-and-greed index at 18, still in extreme fear.
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