Bitcoin slides toward $75,000, ETH, SOL, XRP drop as oil hits four-year high
The Iran war premium is back, and crypto is paying for it. Bitcoin slid 2.1% over the past 24 hours to $75,633 in Asian hours Thursday, down 3% on the week, as Brent crude jumped 7.1% to $126.41 a barrel — the highest intraday level in four years — on an Axios report that President Donald Trump is set to receive a briefing on new military options against Iran. The report added U.S. Central Command has asked for hypersonic missiles to be deployed to the Middle East, which would mark the first time American forces have used those weapons in combat. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut since the war began in late February, choking flows of crude, natural gas, and oil products. Such activity leads to a war premium, which refers to the portion of an assets price driven by conflict risk rather than supply-demand fundamentals. Brent has been carrying a heavy one all year, with prices up over 100% year-to-date. The global benchmark is now riding a nine-day winning streak, the longest since May 2022, and is up over 100% year-to-date. Ether dropped 3.4% to $2,244 and is down 4.4% on the week. XRP fell 2.1% to $1.37, off 3.7% over