Bitcoin fell below $81,000 after Thursday’s Wall Street open, while oil prices climbed as markets reacted to reports that military confrontation between the United States and Iran could return. The move left BTC’s $82,500 support level under pressure.
According to TradingView data cited by Cointelegraph, BTC/USD on Bitstamp dropped to $81,000, its lowest level since Sept. 21. The report said Bitcoin price action was increasingly pointing to a possible loss of the $82,500 level, which traders have been watching as a key area of support.
Oil rises on reports of possible new US strikes on Iran
NBC News, citing a Pentagon official and a source familiar with the matter, reported that the US could be preparing fresh military strikes on Iran. Oil moved higher on the day after that report. WTI crude reached $93.20 per barrel, its highest level since Oct. 2, while Brent crude climbed to $105.88.
Speaking to supporters at a rally in San Antonio, Texas, US President Donald Trump said Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was making progress with Iran on a peace deal, while also saying he had little personal interest in a diplomatic outcome.
Quoted by The Independent, Trump said, “I think the deal isn’t really something that I want to do, but they’re willing to offer us anything to stop.” He also said he saw the conflict ending “very soon.”
Bond yields hit a new high as Waller keeps rate hikes on the table
The US 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.73% during the day, marking a new 24-year high, before easing to 5.65%. Cointelegraph said markets remained nervous about the war’s effect on fuel prices and inflation.
Comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller added pressure to yields. Speaking at a Central Bank of Turkey forum in Istanbul, he said additional rate hikes may still be needed if economic data continues to come in as expected.
“If the economic data continue to come in as expected, I anticipate additional hikes to support a timelier return of inflation to our 2 percent goal. But there is some flexibility about when those hikes will occur,” Waller said.
He added: “The hikes do not need to come at consecutive meetings, but they should be in place in an acceptable period of time.”
The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed markets raising bets on a 0.25% rate hike at the Fed’s December meeting. The probability of that outcome moved above 70% on Thursday. For the October meeting, market consensus still favored a pause at the current 3.75%-4% range.
$82,500 remains the key Bitcoin level
Bitcoin continued to trade around the $82,500 area, with traders waiting for a clearer move around that support level. Cointelegraph said it had previously reported that the level matters in Bitcoin’s broader rebound from multiyear lows near $57,000, given similarities to the closing phase of the 2022 bear market.
In an updated post on X, trader and analyst Rekt Capital wrote: “Bitcoin is still in a transitional phase and at critical technical juncture. ~$82500 is the deciding price point when it comes to where Bitcoin builds out its next market structure.”
CoinGlass data showed that Bitcoin’s drop below $82,000 worsened long liquidations across the crypto market. At the time of writing, cross-crypto long liquidations stood at around $430 million.