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BTC price plummets as political tensions escalate in the Middle East
BTC and other cryptocurrencies fall sharply following Iran's attack on Israel.
Bitcoin's price plunged more than 8.4% on April 13 after Iran launched an attack on Israel, escalating geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.

The cryptocurrency's price fell from around $67,000 to $61,625, wiping out more than $130 million in market capitalization in a matter of minutes following the attack.

The sell-off is also affecting other cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, Ether was down 9.81% at $2,927, while Solana sank 15.96% at $129. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the global crypto market cap declined by 8.19% to $2.23 trillion.
According to Bloomberg, Iran launched drones into Israel on Saturday. The action is in retaliation for an attack carried out by Israel days earlier. Israel attacked a diplomatic compound in Damascus, Syria, killing seven Iranians, including two generals.

In addition to the airstrikes, Iranian authorities have seized a cargo ship owned by an Israeli billionaire.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned on April 12 that Iran would launch attacks "sooner rather than later," stressing that the U.S. would help defend Israel:

"We are dedicated to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel, we will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed."

The Iran-Israel conflict significantly increases tensions in the region, something the United States has reportedly been trying to avoid since the Israel-Hamas conflict in October.

US officials have urged Israel not to escalate tensions in its responses to Iran, a government source told CNN. The officials also expressed frustration over the lack of prior information Israel provided about its airstrike in Damascus. Israel only informed a U.S. official when its planes were already en route to Syria, the sources said.

"We didn't know Israel was going to carry out this airstrike beforehand," a U.S. official said. "Minutes before it happened and when Israeli planes were already in the air, Israel contacted a U.S. official to say that they were in the process of carrying out an attack in Syria. It did not include details about who they were targeting or where it would take place, and the attack was already underway before the information could be transmitted through the U.S. government."
Source: Cointelegraph