Bitcoin prices dipped below six figures for the first time since early May, but the weakness is only temporary, according to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.
Bitcoin (BTC) prices fell to their lowest level for more than six weeks in late trading on Sunday when they dipped below $98,500, coming after a US airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.
However, the sub-six-figure drop didn’t last long, and the asset had reclaimed $101,000 during early trading in Asia on Monday morning.
BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes said on X that the “weakness shall pass” and Bitcoin will “leave no doubt as to its safe haven status.” He said that this will be driven by more central bank money printing.
Bouncing back or falling back?
In a note shared with Cointelegraph, 10x Research head of research Markus Thielen said that as long as Bitcoin remains above the short-term realized price of $98,000 and the $102,000 trend support, “traders can continue to look for tactical rally opportunities.”
However, he cautioned that a break below this range “would shift the focus to risk management, especially in the absence of strong upside catalysts.”
Related: Bitcoin closer to equities than gold as Middle East war deepens
Bitcoin has been in a five-week consolidation phase, with three failed attempts to break above $110,000 due to short-term macroeconomic shocks, from tariff concerns in May to the Israel–Iran escalation in June.
“These events have underscored that Bitcoin is not behaving as a risk-off hedge in the current environment.”
Thielen told Cointelegraph that he expects the sideways trading to continue for a few months. “Our view is that we consolidate over the summer,” he said.
Institutional demand remains strong
Eugene Cheung, chief commercial officer at digital asset platform OSL, remains bullish.
“Despite Bitcoin briefly dipping below $100,000 amid heightened geopolitical tensions following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, its resilience suggests strong institutional support and long-term bullish sentiment,” he told Cointelegraph on Monday.
He added that structural demand for both Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) persists as market volatility “underscores crypto’s sensitivity to macro risks, highlighting the ongoing pattern to absorb shocks and continue in a general bullish trend.”
Time for altcoins to run?
Meanwhile, Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, told Cointelegraph that altcoins could start to perform better in the coming months.
“While Bitcoin’s volatility has been the focus after the US-Iran escalation, the altcoin market is showing signs of divergent strength,” he said, adding:
“The coming months could see altcoins outperform if macro conditions stabilize and crypto-specific catalysts gain traction.”
Most of the altcoins were in the red at the time of writing, with the overall crypto market capitalization down 1.5%, or around $50 billion, over the past 12 hours in a fall to $3.21 trillion, according to CoinGecko.
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