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Bitcoin Slides to $62,037 as Iran Conflict Sparks Fresh Energy Fears

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Bitcoin Slides to ,037 as Iran Conflict Sparks Fresh Energy Fears

Bitcoin Tumbles Amid U.S.-Iran Clashes

Bitcoin tumbled to the $62,000 range Monday as a weekend exchange of gunfire between U.S. and Iranian forces threatened to spark another energy crisis. Market data showed the top cryptocurrency plunged from a 24-hour peak of $64,385 late Sunday to $62,037 by 10:15 a.m. EST Monday.

While the cryptocurrency attempted to reclaim the $63,000 resistance level, another sell-off saw it retreat to $62,200, reversing earlier gains and leaving it down nearly 3%. The decline dragged its market capitalization down from $1.28 trillion to approximately $1.25 trillion as of 12:40 p.m. EST. The slide, in turn, helped trim the crypto economy’s aggregate market capitalization to $2.24 trillion.

Meanwhile, the slide triggered the liquidation of $83 million in long leveraged positions and $12 million in shorts. Overall, liquidations across the crypto economy topped $322 million, with liquidated long bets accounting for $267 million of the total.

Following earlier strikes in the week, the U.S. military upped the ante Sunday, striking more than 100 targets across Iran. The U.S. maintains the strikes were in response to Iranian attacks on shipping vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In addition to the strikes, some media reports suggested the U.S. military was contemplating a blockade on Iranian ports.

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Iran, which rejects the allegations, launched retaliatory strikes targeting U.S. bases and installations across five Gulf countries, including Qatar and Tehran’s ally Oman. Iran insists Washington is violating a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The apparent return to full combat operations came days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire between the two sides over. The U.S. leader also accused Tehran of violating the terms of the MoU, which requires Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Following the latest escalation, oil prices jumped 4.5%, with the global benchmark Brent crude breaching the $80-per-barrel mark. According to analysts, market concern is expanding beyond crude oil prices, with investors increasingly focused on disruptions to global refining capacity and fuel supply chains. Ongoing conflicts have affected refinery operations across the Middle East and, recently, key global shipping routes in the Russia-Ukraine region.

“Even if crude oil prices stabilize, gasoline and diesel prices could remain elevated due to limited refined fuel availability. This creates a risk that energy inflation may prove more persistent than markets currently anticipate,” a Bitunix analyst asserted in a recent report.

For global markets, including crypto, the central question for this week extends beyond whether U.S. inflation rises again. The bigger issue is whether global capital costs continue moving higher.

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With AI investment absorbing significant funding, energy supply chains facing uncertainty, and Federal Reserve policy remaining unsettled, risk assets are likely to remain driven by the interaction among interest rates, liquidity conditions and corporate financing costs.

“For bitcoin, reclaiming and holding above $64,000 could improve short-term momentum. However, continued pressure from higher capital costs may keep BTC trapped within a broader consolidation range,” the analyst said.

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Crypto

Brazil tightens crypto transfers to curb fraud

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Brazil tightens crypto transfers to curb fraud

SAO PAULO, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank said on Friday that some ​cryptocurrency transfers will ‌have to be delayed by up to 24 hours under new anti-fraud rules.

• The central bank ‌said ​the move ⁠reflects the growing ⁠use of virtual assets, including stablecoins, to quickly move money obtained through financial scams.

• ​The rule, which takes effect next year, ⁠applies to transfers ⁠over $10,000 sent to foreign ​virtual-asset firms or to self-custody ​wallets.

• The threshold can be ‌measured per transaction or by a customer’s total transfers in a single day.

• ⁠The central bank said the delay could also apply to other ⁠transactions ‌that require closer ⁠scrutiny under risk-management policies.

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• ​It ‌added that the measure ​is ⁠not an asset freeze and does not permanently block transfers.

(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by ​Kylie Madry)

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Bitcoin Tops $65,340 as BIP 110 Fight Raises Hard Fork Risk

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Bitcoin Tops ,340 as BIP 110 Fight Raises Hard Fork Risk

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin Reclaims $65K Range

On Friday, bitcoin finally breached the $65,000 threshold amid escalating rhetoric surrounding BIP 110 and threats of another hard fork. Bitstamp data shows the cryptocurrency peaked at $65,340—its highest point in August so far and its first return to that level since July 27. Before 4:00 a.m. EST, however, the cryptocurrency had been gradually declining, with selling pressure briefly pulling it down to $64,132.

A strong rally followed, pushing bitcoin up by over $1,000 in just five hours to reach its daily peak. Although it retreated below $64,800 around 10:10 a.m. EST, a subsequent relief rally sent it rocketing past $65,000 for the second time. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading just below that mark, bringing its daily gains to 0.5%.

Despite the relatively flat price action, the movement pushed bitcoin’s market capitalization back past $1.3 trillion. The marginal daily gain capped off a 3.3% weekly rise during a turbulent period in which controversy over the CLARITY Act reached a crescendo.

In the derivatives market, short liquidations topped $30 million for the second consecutive day, while long liquidations neared $8 million. Across the broader crypto economy, total liquidations hit $192 million, with short wipes accounting for just under $112 million.

Meanwhile, hopes for the passage of the CLARITY Act before the U.S. Senate recess were dashed when Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced plans to revisit the topic in September. While a setback for the crypto industry—which had framed the bill as a crucial milestone under the Trump administration—some market participants brushed off the potential negative impact.

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However, regulatory debate was not the only issue shaping discussions around Bitcoin’s future. The controversial BIP 110 proposal reached a fever pitch after prominent Core developer Luke Dashjr suggested on X that if BIP 110 fails to gain traction, changing Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism would be “the only option”—a stance that underscored the growing risk of a potential chain split.

“If BIP110 doesn’t pan out, the only option is a PoW change,” he wrote on X when asked about the proposal’s potential failure.

Others warn that if miners don’t back the proposal, this has deep implications for bitcoin, which has retained its status as the number one decentralized network despite challenges including the 2017 hard fork.

Echoing the urgency, itcoiner Nithu Sezni asserted that if miners refuse to activate BIP 110, bitcoin effectively becomes a centralized “shitcoin.” Sezni argued that if six major mining pools can block the proposal and collude to dictate network rules, decentralization is lost—leaving node runners vulnerable to blockchain bloat and state capture before hyperbitcoinization can occur.

Still, much like the legislative back-and-forth over the CLARITY Act, the BIP 110 debate appears to have had a limited impact on bitcoin’s price. In fact, some market observers suggest bitcoin’s upward trend ahead of the BIP 110 deadline is driven by investors accumulating coins in anticipation of a potential hard fork—a scenario that would automatically grant them equivalent tokens on the split chain.

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Bitcoin Holds Above $64,500 as Short Liquidations Drop

Bitcoin briefly approached $65,000 on Thursday, holding support above $64,500 despite intraday pullbacks to $64,144 and bringing its gains since…

Bitcoin Holds Above $64,500 as Short Liquidations Drop
Bitcoin.com News

Bitcoin Holds Above $64,500 as Short Liquidations Drop

Bitcoin briefly approached $65,000 on Thursday, holding support above $64,500 despite intraday pullbacks to $64,144 and bringing its gains since…

Bitcoin Holds Above $64,500 as Short Liquidations Drop
Bitcoin.com News

Bitcoin Holds Above $64,500 as Short Liquidations Drop

Bitcoin briefly approached $65,000 on Thursday, holding support above $64,500 despite intraday pullbacks to $64,144 and bringing its gains since…

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1 Unstoppable Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 56% by the End of the Year, According to Standard Chartered | The Motley Fool

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1 Unstoppable Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 56% by the End of the Year, According to Standard Chartered | The Motley Fool

Bitcoin (BTC +0.40%) may be down, but it’s not out. A surprising number of analysts and investors now think that it could reclaim the $100,000 price level by the end of the year.

In July, Standard Chartered (SCBFY -0.22%) doubled down on its $100,000 price target, calling Bitcoin a “screaming buy” at its current price level of $64,000. While Bitcoin is known for its spectacular year-end rallies, does it really have enough left in the tank to soar 56% by the end of the year?

Key factors for Bitcoin

According to Standard Chartered, Bitcoin’s price has been held down this year by all the hand-wringing over the financial condition of Bitcoin treasury companies such as Strategy (MSTR -1.54%). Instead of hoarding its Bitcoin, Strategy is now selling some of it, and that has spooked investors.

At the same time, a number of Bitcoin-focused companies are now pivoting into artificial intelligence. Take Bitcoin miners, for example. Bitcoin was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time to move into the next “hot” sector. Some Bitcoin miners are dumping their Bitcoin and then using those funds to buy the computing infrastructure necessary for AI.

Image source: Jester AI.

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But this is only a short-term problem, says Standard Chartered. It fully expects the situation around Strategy to stabilize. And given the growing concerns about an AI bubble, it’s quite possible that some of the companies that pivoted into AI may soon pivot back to crypto.

Moreover, inflows into Bitcoin ETFs appear to be returning. For much of the year, money has been flowing out of these spot Bitcoin ETFs, as investors move their money elsewhere. But those outflows appear to have peaked. Slowly but surely, institutional investors are moving money back into Bitcoin, and that should help to boost its price going forward.

Bitcoin’s cycle of boom and bust

And don’t forget — Bitcoin is highly cyclical. Yes, Bitcoin is down a stunning 49% from its October 2025 peak. But crypto investors have seen this story before. During previous market cycles, the total drawdown in Bitcoin has been as high as 94%. Each time, however, Bitcoin has recovered.

Bitcoin Stock Quote

Today’s Change

(0.40%) $258.90

Current Price

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$64,793.00

In fact, after every major drawdown, Bitcoin has more than recovered. It has marched to a new all-time high. Take the last Bitcoin bear market cycle, for example. Bitcoin lost 64% of its value in 2022 and fell as low as $16,000. However, by the end of 2024, it was already trading at the $100,000 price level.

Is it too much to hope for a similar type of stellar comeback for Bitcoin? Perhaps. But I’m still expecting a major year-end rally for Bitcoin to send it past the $100,000 price level. It’s exactly the type of unstoppable cryptocurrency that I’m looking to add to my portfolio right now.

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