Bitcoin dips below $69,000 as oil prices rebound amid waning Middle East peace prospects.

Crypto markets and broader risk assets remain highly sensitive to macro headlines, with near-term direction driven largely by geopolitical developments, one analyst said.

Bitcoin fell below $69,000 on Thursday as a wider risk-off move gathered momentum, reversing earlier optimism tied to potential Iran-U.S. de-escalation. The leading cryptocurrency dropped more than 3% from an overnight high above $71,000.

Major altcoins followed the decline, with ether, XRP, Solana and Cardano each falling between 4% and 5% over the same period.

Oil continues to act as a key macro signal. Crude prices climbed roughly 4%, rebounding from earlier कमजोरी and reinforcing concerns around inflation and potential supply disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.

Equity markets also weakened, with U.S. stocks sliding to session lows by midday in New York. The Nasdaq fell about 1.4%, while bond markets reflected rising pressure, with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbing 7 basis points to 4.40% and Germany’s 10-year Bund yield rising 10.5 basis points to 3.06%.

Large-cap tech stocks remained under strain. All members of the “Magnificent Seven” are now down in double digits from their peaks, with NVIDIA off 18%, Meta down 30%, Amazon 20%, Alphabet 19%, Microsoft 34%, Tesla 25% and Apple 14%.

“Looking ahead, the near-term trajectory will likely remain tied to macro developments,” said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group. He added that a clearer path toward geopolitical de-escalation could support risk assets, including bitcoin, while persistent uncertainty may keep markets trapped in a volatile range.

Crypto-linked equities also came under pressure. Shares of Coinbase, Circle and MicroStrategy declined between 3% and 4%.

The steepest losses were seen among bitcoin miners, many of which are increasingly tied to broader tech and AI infrastructure themes. Hut 8 fell 8.6%, while IREN and Riot Platforms dropped more than 7%. TeraWulf and HIVE Digital also posted significant declines.

WhiteFiber shares tumbled 14% after reporting weaker fourth-quarter results, including a widened net loss of $1.5 million and a full-year loss of $24.7 million. Its parent company, Bit Digital, fell around 8%.

A few outliers moved higher. MARA Holdings rose 8.7% after announcing it had sold $1.1 billion worth of bitcoin to reduce debt.