Key Points
- Bitcoin’s price dropped to $60,000 levels on October 1.
- Yesterday, tensions in the Middle East surged as Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel.
Following the rising tensions in the Middle East on October 1, Bitcoin’s price dropped to $60,000 levels.
After kicking off October at $64,000, BTC’s price tumbled, reaching $60,371 yesterday, ahead of a slight reversal upwards.
At the moment of writing this article, BTC is trading above $61,600, down by more than 3% in the past 24 hours.
The US-based Bitcoin ETFs also recorded their first day of outflows, following an 8-day inflow streak.
BTC ETFs Record Over $242.5 Million in Outflows
According to data from SoSoValue, October 1 marked the first day in which Bitcoin ETFs in the US saw outflows, following eight consecutive influx days, totaling $1.4 billion.
The outflows in the US-based crypto products totaled $242.53 million yesterday:
- Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF, GBTC, saw outflows of almost $6 million.
- Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF, FBTC, recorded outflows of $144.6 million.
- Ark Invest and 21Shares’ Bitcoin ETF, recorded outflows of $84.3 million.
- Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF, BITB, recorded outflows of $32.7 million.
- VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF, HODL, recorded outflows of $15.7 million.
However, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, was the only crypto product that recorded inflows yesterday, at $40.8 million. The other Bitcoin ETFs in the US did not record any influxes or outflows the other day.
The total net assets in Bitcoin ETFs as of October 1 were $57.36 billion, and the cumulative total net inflow in the crypto products was $18.62 billion.
Bitcoin and Crypto Liquidations
Also, in the past 24 hours, Bitcoin saw over $140 million in liquidations, according to data from CoinGlass. $126.6 were long positions, and almost $16 million were short positions.
According to the same data, the crypto market recorded almost $526 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours. Almost $453 million were long positions and $72.6 million were short positions.
As CNBC noted, Bitcoin and the crypto market dropped yesterday, as rising tensions in the Middle East have dampened investors’ risk appetite.
Cited by CNBC, Chris Kline, chief operating officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA, a trusted retirement platform, noted that the surging unrest across the Middle East has propelled oil prices upward and reinforced the dollar’s strength, while “casting a shadow” over Bitcoin and other speculative investments.
Iran Launched a Missile Attack on Israel
Yesterday, Iran attacked Israel, as a response to its recent killing of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the Iranian commander in Lebanon. Israel’s Iron Dome failed to stop Iran’s missiles that struck Tel Aviv.
However, according to reports from the press agency Reuters, Iran said today that its missile attack on Israel was finished, barring further provocation.
On the other hand, according to the same reports, Israel and the US promised to retaliate against Tehran’s escalation.
Washington said that it would work with Israel to make sure Iran faced “severe consequences” for yesterday’s attack.
The United Nations Security Council scheduled a meeting regarding the rising tensions in the Middle East, and the European Union called for an immediate ceasefire.