Bitcoin Dips Below $78K After US Strikes Iran, But Analysts Call Pullback Healthy

Bitcoin retreated toward $77,000 on Monday after US forces struck an Iranian launch site in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a fresh round of retaliatory attacks and sending oil prices higher. The pullback, however, marks what several market observers describe as a healthy correction following a month in which the largest cryptocurrency surged more than 20 percent.

The digital asset traded near $77,580 during Asian hours, according to CoinDesk, holding up better than gold and equities even as geopolitical stress returned to the forefront. WTI crude futures jumped nearly 2 percent to $85.10, while Brent climbed 1.9 percent to $92.39. Gold slipped 0.8 percent to $4,418 per ounce, and Nasdaq futures fell 0.5 percent alongside losses in Asian stock markets.

Bitcoin's resilience has been a recurring theme through August. The token has gained roughly 23 percent this month, compared with 9 percent for gold and 4 percent for the Nasdaq, buoyed by strong inflows into spot exchange-traded funds and expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve policy action.

Warsh's Hawkish Turn

The weekend's decline was accelerated by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who delivered a more hawkish-than-expected speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. Warsh said inflation remains insufficiently contained and argued that current financial conditions are not restrictive, adding that recent improvements in price pressures do not yet signal a meaningful shift in underlying trends.