Bitcoin Holds Up as Asian Markets Reel From Iran Strikes

Asian markets plunged as the fallout from US and Israeli military strikes on Iran sent oil surging, stocks tumbling and investors seeking safe havens. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut and Brent crude up as much as 13%, Bitcoin held up better than expected, trading around $66,500 after a weekend that saw it swing between $63,000 and $68,000.

Japan’s Nikkei plunged as much as 2.15% at the open before paring the drop to 1.66%, trading at 57,875 by midday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.54% and Singapore’s Straits Times dropped 2.13%, while Shanghai dipped just 0.45%. Airline stocks slid more than 5% across the region, Brent jumped as much as 13% at the open and WTI was up 4.24% by midday.

US futures recovered from early lows, gold rose 1.76%, and China’s energy sector bucked the trend with PetroChina opening up 7% and the CSI Energy Index jumping 5% — yet Bitcoin, down 2.2% on the day, outperformed steep equity losses.

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