Bitcoin Falls Below $60,000 After Conflict Reports

Following reports of an Israeli missile strike on Iran, investors fled riskier assets, sending cryptocurrencies plunging sharply lower. On Friday, bitcoin broke below $60,000.

Bitcoin slid more than 5.5% to $59,961 in the Asia session as the U.S. dollar rose broadly. Ether fell by a similar margin, dropping below the $3,000 barrier to $2,895.

Israel launched an attack on Iranian soil on Friday days after Iran launched a drone strike on Israel.

Iranian media reported explosions, but an Iranian official said those were caused by air defence systems. State media said three drones over the central city of Isfahan had been shot down.

Israel’s leadership and the military were silent early on Friday.

The decline in bitcoin comes just hours ahead of the cryptocurrency’s halving on Friday – a change to its underlying technology designed to cut the rate at which new bitcoins are created.

Reuters