Risk assets, including Bitcoin, got off to a poor start Thursday as US President Donald Trump threatened renewed tariff measures as the early July deadline for trade deals begins to get near. Bitcoin has substantially added to the losses, now down over 3.7% over the past 24 hours, as Israeli forces bombed at the heart of Iran’s nuclear, missile, and military complex early Friday, in unprecedented strikes. In a press briefing on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Iran’s nuclear ambitions as a “clear and present danger,” saying the “preemptive strikes” would “continue for as many days as it takes to eliminate this threat. MUST WATCH Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu issues a statement on Israel’s strike against Iran and its nuclear program: pic.twitter.com/gd4A8DYKHX — Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 13, 2025 The foremost crypto fell to $103,081 lows, down from a 24-hour high of $108,369, according to CoinGecko data, as the escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered a flight from risk assets. At its current price of $103,980, BTC remains about 6.9% down from its all-time high mark of $111,814 set in May, per data from CoinGecko . Ethereum, the industry’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, declined by 9.8% at the time of publication. Nevertheless, spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking ETH recently pulled in approximately $240 million in investments, outperforming Bitcoin ETFs for a rare instance in the funds’ histories. Other popular alternative crypto assets, like Solana’s SOL and Dogecoin (DOGE), have fallen as well, dropping roughly 10.3% and 10% respectively in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has historically seen short-term price drops during periods of geopolitical unrest, as investors tend to shift toward safer assets. Regardless, the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency has always rebounded swiftly, buoyed by its increasing adoption as a digital store of value. Meanwhile, President Trump has continued his crusade to push Fed Chairman Jerome Powell into a more dovish stance, calling him a “numbskull” for not slashing interest rates . “I may have to force something,” threatened Trump. Powell’s term as Fed chief is scheduled to end in 2026, and the president had previously said firing him before that was not an option.
