Bitcoin slides below $69,500 as oil spikes past $100 following tanker attacks

Bitcoin’s brief rebound faded quickly after fresh geopolitical tensions sent oil prices sharply higher again.

The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, fell to around $69,393 on Thursday morning, down about 0.8% over the past 24 hours and roughly 4.3% for the week. The decline followed attacks on two oil tankers in Iraqi waters that pushed Brent crude back above $100 per barrel.

The spike in oil erased the optimism that had briefly lifted markets on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency proposed a record release from strategic reserves. The renewed surge in crude prices quickly dampened risk appetite across Asian markets.

Bitcoin’s price action reflected the abrupt shift in sentiment. The cryptocurrency had climbed to about $71,230 late Wednesday before the tanker attack headlines triggered a rapid sell-off of nearly $2,000 within hours.

It marked the third time in the past two weeks that bitcoin pushed above the $71,000 level only to retreat following new developments in the Middle East conflict.

Oil markets reacted sharply to the latest disruption. Brent crude jumped as much as 10.5% during Thursday’s session, fueled by the tanker attacks, the clearance of the Mina Al Fahal port in Oman, continued hostilities across the Persian Gulf and growing doubts that the IEA’s planned reserve release will be sufficient to offset supply disruptions.

The broader financial markets also weakened. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.8%, with energy stocks the only sector posting gains. Losses deepened through the session as markets showed little sign of stabilizing.

Cryptocurrencies broadly followed bitcoin lower. Ether slipped to around $2,025, down 0.5% on the day and 4.5% over the week. Solana dropped 1.5% to $85, bringing its seven-day decline to 5.7%, the steepest among major tokens. XRP lost about 0.8% to $1.37.

Meanwhile, Dogecoin slipped 0.8% to $0.092, erasing most of the gains sparked earlier in the week by comments from Elon Musk. BNB traded roughly unchanged near $642.

Price movements over the past two weeks have followed a consistent pattern. Positive developments push bitcoin toward the $71,000–$74,000 range, while negative headlines send it back toward $66,000–$68,000. Overall, the net move has been minimal, aligning with signals from on-chain data.

Demand metrics remain weak. Data from CryptoQuant shows apparent demand at around negative 30,800 BTC on a 30-day basis. The firm’s bull-bear indicator also remains in bearish territory, while the amount of supply held at a loss continues to rise, suggesting that many holders are selling into price rebounds.

Geopolitical uncertainty remains a major factor. Donald Trump said earlier this week that the conflict could end “very soon” and that military objectives were largely achieved. However, the timeline remains unclear as Iran continues targeting sites across the region and disruptions persist around the Strait of Hormuz.

With the next policy meeting of the Federal Reserve scheduled for March 17–18, oil prices returning above $100 are adding to concerns about stagflation and reducing expectations that interest rate cuts could arrive anytime soon.