Bitcoin drops on Iran war uncertainty

Bitcoin pulled back to $69,500 during European trading hours after failing to penetrate $71,750 resistance, declining 0.55% since geopolitical tensions from the US-Israel war with Iran drove cautious trading and over $220 million in crypto futures liquidations (mostly longs), while most altcoins lagged. Derivatives positioning showed institutional appetite remaining weak with CME bitcoin futures open interest dropping to $7.39 billion (lowest since September 2024) and similar declines in ETH futures, though crypto sentiment improved from "extreme fear" to "fear" territory at 25/100 on the Fear and Greed index as the market demonstrated relative strength versus precious metals and US equities since the conflict began March 1.