Ether fell sharply while Bitcoin held steady after President Donald Trump said American bombers and missiles had struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites.
The second-ranked token fell as much as 7.7% on Sunday morning in Asia to about $2,200, its lowest intra-day level since May 9. Bitcoin briefly dipped below $101,000 but pared losses to trade relatively evenly in the aftermath of the attacks.
The losses come after Trump said Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were struck in the operation, specifically describing a “payload of BOMBS” dropped on Fordow, a key location of uranium enrichment that has raised international concern that Iran was preparing to create a nuclear weapon.
“The overhang of whether the US would strike Iran caused a selloff through the week and into the weekend,” said Cosmo Jiang, general partner at Pantera Capital Management. “With the strikes confirmed and a resolution closer at hand, prices seem to have found at least a local bottom.”
Jiang added that Bitcoin “tends to lead the market out of a bounce” in times of geopolitical uncertainty.