Bitcoin Price Drops Below $103,000 Amid Geopolitical Tensions

Bitcoin experienced a significant decline, dropping 5.3% from an intra-day peak of $108,450 to a low of $102,664, before recovering slightly to around $104,456. This sell-off coincided with Israel's large-scale airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, impacting various asset classes.

Reasons for Bitcoin's Decline

Israel's operation repriced global risk, causing oil futures to rise over 10% and gold to reach a record high above $3,400 per ounce.
US equity futures dropped approximately 1.5%. Analysts noted similar patterns following prior geopolitical tensions.
Market panic led to the forced liquidation of about $1.14 billion in crypto futures within 24 hours, predominantly affecting long positions.
The largest single liquidation was a $201 million BTC-USDT long on Binance.
Bitcoin's struggles are linked to tightening financial conditions as inflation data surprises to the upside, with rising energy prices threatening disinflation trends.

Overall, Bitcoin's performance reflects its sensitivity to global liquidity fluctuations and market reactions to geopolitical events.