Bitcoin slips below $63K as Hormuz strikes lift oil, yields

Bitcoin dropped below $63,000 on Monday after new U.S. strikes on Iran coincided with rising oil, a firmer dollar and higher Treasury yields, putting the $60,000 support level back into focus as equity futures retreated.

U.S. Central Command reported the strikes began at 5 p.m. ET on July 12 and targeted Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Markets responded quickly: Brent crude rose to about $79.60 a barrel and U.S. crude to roughly $74.85. S&P 500 futures fell about 0.6%, Dow futures declined 0.4% and Nasdaq futures fell about 1.3%.

A broad measure of the dollar gained roughly 0.1%. Both short- and long-term Treasury yields moved higher, with the two-year near 4.23% and the 10-year around 4.58%.

Market data showed Bitcoin trading near $62,774 early Monday after touching a low of $62,565, a decline of about 1.9% over 24 hours. Bitcoin’s market capitalization was about $1.27 trillion and 24-hour trading volume was near $22 billion.

Traders pointed to several factors besides the strikes, including thin weekend liquidity, ongoing fund flows out of risk assets and crypto-specific selling pressure. Analysts noted that oil holding near $80 can keep inflation expectations elevated, which tends to support a stronger dollar and higher borrowing costs and can reduce demand for non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin.

Prediction markets assigned roughly a 57.5% probability that Bitcoin would touch $60,000 in July and about a 65% probability that it would reach $65,000 during the month, reflecting expectations of wide intramonth swings.

Market participants said a sustained break below the $62,565 daily low would remove the nearest cushion and increase the likelihood of a retest of $60,000. A recovery above the local $64,300 high would suggest the decline was a range test rather than the start of a deeper correction.