Market Response: Hamas Attack on Israel Causes 2% Drop in Crypto Prices

Over the weekend, Bitcoin made a noteworthy attempt to surge to a two-month peak before displaying early signs of a slight retreat on Monday. The cryptocurrency market experienced a dip in tandem with marginal drops in the global stock market. Additionally, there was an uptick in oil prices due to heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Bitcoin (BTC) observed a 1.7% decline within the last 24 hours, settling at $27,500. It demonstrated resilience in comparison to most other digital assets. Matrixport, a crypto investment services firm, even touted it as being "superior to digital gold." Despite Bitcoin's initial promise to challenge the $28,400 mark, it faced a stumbling block just below $28,200, ultimately ceding ground to sellers earlier today.

The comprehensive Bitsday Market Index (BMI) displayed a 2% reduction.

Ether (ETH) underwent a 2.5% dip. Beyond the broader concerns affecting the market, this drop was further influenced by the Ethereum Foundation's sale of tokens on UniSwap, amounting to $2.7 million. As the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ether found itself at a 15-month low in comparison to bitcoin.

Altcoins, on the contrary, suffered more substantial setbacks. Tokens like Ripple Labs' XRP, solana (SOL), Polygon's native token (MATIC), Avalanche's (AVAX), and the popular meme token dogecoin (DOGE) all recorded declines ranging from 4% to 5% over the past 24 hours.

Hamas attack on Israel shakes markets

The Israel-Hamas conflict entered its third day on Monday. There were concerns about the conflict potentially spreading to neighboring countries, particularly Iran. This seemed to have an impact on oil prices, with traders speculating about potential disruptions in the supply chain.

In the event that the U.S. enforces sanctions on Iranian exports, it could potentially lead to a "fairly significant impact on the oil market," as noted by Josh Young, Chief Investment Officer of energy investment firm Bison Interests in a statement to CNBC. He further remarked, "I believe it would be appropriate to witness an increase of approximately $5 for WTI."

Since Sunday, WTI crude oil prices experienced an uptick of nearly 3.5%, reaching $86.54 per barrel based on MarketWatch data. This signifies a continuation of a three-month upward trend, culminating in a 16% gain.

While Asian equity markets concluded the day in the red, both European and U.S. stocks also observed declines. However, these were relatively modest, with the Stoxx 600 experiencing a marginal 0.25% dip, while the S&P 500 saw a decrease of 0.6%.

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