Bitcoin was muted on Tuesday, amid a major risk-off move away from speculative assets such as crypto and equities. The spotlight was dominated by heightened geopolitical tensions as the conflict in the Middle East widened.
The world’s largest crypto also remained squarely within a trading range seen through most of February, and was still nursing steep YTD declines.
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Bitcoin was last down 2.1% to $67,993.7 at 16:47 ET (21:47 GMT).
Bitcoin remains in Feb range as Iran tensions weigh Bitcoin tracked some strength in Wall Street on Monday, rising as high as $69,213.3.
But the world’s largest crypto continued to trade below $70,000 – a level it has struggled to rise back above since late-January.
Bitcoin largely flitted between $60,000 and $70,000 over the past month, as appetite for speculative assets was hurt by a storm of growing uncertainties. Crypto in particular remained largely on the backfoot, with Bitcoin still nursing an over 40% wipeout from record highs hit in October.
Risk appetite is expected to remain frail with continued hostilities between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Leaders in all three countries signaled little intent for de-escalation, while media reports showed military action in the Middle East continuing as of Tuesday.
Bitcoin is down 22.4% so far in 2026. Recent buy action by top corporate holder Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) did little to shore up sentiment towards crypto.
Core Scientific to sell most of Bitcoin holdings to fund AI push Bitcoin miner Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) said it expects to sell most of its bitcoin holdings in 2026, with the bulk of dispositions likely in the first quarter, as it redirects capital toward expanding artificial intelligence and high-performance computing operations.
In its annual report filed Monday, the company stated it “currently expects to monetize substantially all” of its Bitcoin reserves this year to strengthen liquidity and support capital spending tied to its high-density colocation strategy. The exact timing and scale of any sales will depend on market conditions and the company’s cash needs.
The move reflects a broader pivot across publicly traded miners toward more predictable, contracted revenue streams as firms navigate bitcoin price volatility and rising mining difficulty.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Core Scientific held 2,537 BTC with a carrying fair value of $222 million, based on an average 2025 bitcoin price of $101,639.
Crypto price today: altcoins mostly lower, data in focus Broader crypto prices were also largely muted on Tuesday, trading short of peaks hit on Monday.
Beyond geopolitics, focus this week is also on more key data from the world’s largest economy, chiefly nonfarm payrolls data for February.
The print is likely to factor into expectations for U.S. interest rates. A host of Federal Reserve officials are also set to speak before the payrolls reading, which is due on Friday.
Crypto prices are likely to track any changes in interest rate expectations, given their sensitivity to lending and liquidity conditions.
World no.2 crypto Ether shed 3.6% to $1,968.98, while XRP lost 3% to $1.3557.
Solana, Cardano, and BNB fell 2.8%, 6.3%, and 0.9%, respectively.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin dipped 5.1%, while $TRUMP fell 4.3%.
