Bitcoin slips below $63,000 as Middle East tensions rattle risk assets

Bitcoin fell 3.2% to $62,840 by 09:30 UTC on Friday, extending a weekly decline as renewed Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon reignited fears that last week's US-Iran ceasefire may not hold.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $487 million in net outflows on Thursday, the largest single-day withdrawal in three weeks, according to data from Coinglass. Trading volume over the past 24 hours reached $28.4 billion, 40% above the seven-day average, as sellers dominated order books on Binance and Coinbase.

Altcoins tracked lower, with Bitcoin Cash falling 5.8% and Hyperliquid dropping 7.2% in the same period. Ether declined 4.1% to $3,412.50, with the correlation coefficient between the two largest digital assets standing at 0.89 over the past week, CoinMetrics data shows.

The $60,000 level now represents the next major support, a threshold that has held since mid-May. Open interest on Bitcoin futures is concentrated near $59,500 to $60,500, Coinglass data shows, meaning a break below $60,000 could trigger a cascade of stop-loss orders. Resistance sits at $65,000, the lower end of the range that contained Bitcoin for most of May and early June.

The catalyst for Friday's sell-off was reports of Israeli missile strikes over southern Lebanon, reviving concerns that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed June 18 — ending 111 days of US-Israeli strikes on Iran — may not hold. Israel is not a signatory to the MoU and has publicly rejected its terms, including provisions affirming Lebanon's territorial integrity.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil transits, remains a flashpoint. Iran blockaded the waterway for three months during the war, and while the MoU provides for toll-free passage for 60 days, the long-term administration of the strait remains unresolved. Any renewed disruption to energy flows would push oil prices higher, tightening financial conditions and pressuring risk assets including cryptocurrencies.

The broader crypto market capitalization dropped to $2.38 trillion, down from $2.52 trillion a week earlier, with Bitcoin's dominance rising to 54.3% as altcoins underperformed. Friday's move brings the weekly loss to 5.6%, putting Bitcoin on track for its worst week since early April.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.