Bitcoin price today: tests $59k amid Iran-Israel escalation, halving watch

April 19, 2024 03:20 PM AEST | By Investing

Bitcoin price today: tests $59k amid Iran-Israel escalation, halving watch

Bitcoin falls below $60k after Israel strike, recovers

Bitcoin’s fall below $60,000- which is considered a key support level for the cryptocurrency, signaled that risk appetite, especially towards crypto markets, remained fragile.

This was also evidenced by traders pivoting into the Japanese yen, the U.S. dollar and gold in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli strikes.

Multiple media reports linked explosions seen across Iran earlier on Friday to drone attacks by Israel. While Iran’s major nuclear facilities appeared to be undamaged by the strikes, the move marked a potential escalation in the conflict and could spill over into a war across the Middle East.

But Bitcoin still recovered as the $60,000 support level appeared to be holding, at least for now.

Bitcoin halving in focus

Focus was now on the upcoming halving event, which is expected to take place with the generation of block no. 840,000 on the Bitcoin blockchain. The event is expected to take place over the weekend.

The halving will effectively cut the reward for mining Bitcoin by half, and is expected to reduce the rate at which new Bitcoin is generated. The event ties into the notion that declining supply of Bitcoin will push up its price, but past halvings have yielded few near-term gains.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) analysts said that Bitcoin was still sitting in overbought territory after a strong run so far this year, and could see more price declines after the halving.

Crypto price today: altcoins fragile, but off lows

Broader cryptocurrency prices were fragile as risk appetite remained weak. Sentiment was also dented by a slew of Federal Reserve officials flagging higher-for-longer interest rates.

World no.2 crypto Ethereum fell 0.6%, while XRP lost 1.6%. Solana traded up 4.4%.

Major altcoins were still trading above intraday lows, having recovered from an initial drop in response to the Israel-Iran news.

This article first appeared in Investing.com

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