Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week with an uphill struggle to regain lost ground after a 15% BTC price dip.
After a weekend that decimated crypto, traders are licking their wounds — but Bitcoin is already bouncing back.
Sensitivity to geopolitics thus forms a key focus for the coming week, with commentators comparing recent events in the Middle East to the COVID-19 cross-market crash of March 2020.
So far, altcoins have borne the brunt of the snap market reaction to hostilities between Israel and Iran, with BTC/USD managing to preserve $60,000 support.
Leverage nonetheless saw a comprehensive flush, and even on Bitcoin, 30% of open interest disappeared in an instant.
Going forward, there is much to contend with — while volatility is already plenty visible, Bitcoin is just days away from its next block subsidy halving.
The stage is thus set for volatile conditions to continue as BTC price action becomes anything but boring.
Cointelegraph takes a closer look at the current state of play across Bitcoin and crypto markets in the weekly rundown of important BTC price triggers.
Bitcoin bulls bounce back after flash crash to $61,000
It can be safely said that this weekend produced a crypto market nightmare unlike many seen before.
As news of fresh geopolitical instability in the Middle East emerged, crypto, as the only free-trading markets open 24/7, saw immediate losses.
BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Similar to events in Ukraine in early 2022, Bitcoin and altcoins sold off rapidly. BTC/USD saw lows of just above $61,000.
Altcoins fared much worse, some losing 50% of their value before joining BTC/USD in what is so far a slow grind back up. As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin’s dominance over the combined crypto market cap hit three-year highs last week.
Altcoin total market cap 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
While the extent of the moves caught some by surprise, popular analyst Matthew Hyland suggested that, in hindsight, the signs of a flash correction were already present.
“Overall BTC still basically consolidating at ATHs. ALTs punished but I think it was to rid the market of the over-leveraged and weaker…
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