Bitcoin has maintained above $64,000 despite fresh US attacks on Iran that have escalated to a sixth consecutive night of strikes, according to US Central Command. The cryptocurrency fell 3.5% to an intraday low of around $62,500 on July 17 before recovering to current levels, leaving the asset down nearly 2.4% on the day. The latest drop comes as US forces attacked Iranian military positions, hitting coastal surveillance systems, air-defense sites, logistics infrastructure and maritime assets, while Iran responded with attacks across the Gulf, including strikes on Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base and targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. Oil reached $80 per barrel and the US Dollar Index climbed to 100.79, creating additional pressure on risk assets as the $1 billion in crypto liquidations included approximately $780 million hitting long positions. However, Brent crude oil prices surged above $90/barrel after rallying more than 15% over the past week, extending Q3 gains to over 22%, which typically would have sparked broad risk asset sell-offs but Bitcoin is breaking away from that pattern. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Monday that the US remains open to a diplomatic resolution with Iran, even as US Central Command acknowledged another wave of strikes in the region, with Bitcoin bouncing from weekend lows soon after Rubio's remarks made the rounds.
Bitcoin's resilience is being backed by institutional demand rather than just short-term price action, with Bitcoin ETFs closing the week with $132 million in net inflows after absorbing heavy outflows earlier in the week. The weekly flows returned to positive territory as steady buying returned, showing that institutional investors are viewing the recent pullback as a buying opportunity rather than a market top. Bitcoin's long-term holder supply has hit another all-time high, demonstrating that conviction remains intact among large holders. The weekly flows returned to positive territory as steady buying returned, showing that institutional investors are viewing the recent pullback as a buying opportunity rather than a market top. Traditional investors appear to be circling back, adding $75.76 million in inflows between the 13th and the 17th of July, yet several forces keep the market in a cautious state. Bitcoin's long-term holder supply has hit another all-time high, demonstrating that conviction remains intact among large holders. The market appears to be pricing in the recent geopolitical tensions as a short-term shock rather than a structural shift, which is a key reason why Bitcoin is diverging from previous Q1 patterns. This institutional support comes at a crucial time as Michael Saylor's buy signal looks less like perfect timing and more like strategic positioning for the upcoming macro week.
Bitcoin long-term holders have put a pin in their selling and the market has calmed, yet rising oil prices remain a risk. On-chain data reveals that long-term holders are investors who have held their coins for no less than 155 days without moving them, and the 7-day moving average of the long-term holder SOPR – the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), which measures whether coins move at a profit or a loss – sits at 0.94 at press time, below the breakeven mark of 1. That reading tells us long-term holders have parted with their Bitcoin at roughly a 6% loss so far, marking a sharp improvement from earlier in the cycle when the group sold at a 27% loss and the LTH SOPR fell to 0.73. The monthly picture reinforces that caution, with the LTH SOPR showing these investors selling at a 12% loss since June. Exchange Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) weights each moving coin by how long it stayed dormant, which lets analysts see whether long-term or short-term holders drive the coins landing on exchanges, and the metric currently marks short-term, active participants as the dominant force. An elevated Exchange CDD normally signals that sellers control the market as selling pressure builds, yet the opposite is playing out here and points to a more relaxed phase. The exchange reserve reflects that shift, with the reserve dropping from a high of 2.718 million BTC to 2.704 million BTC, returning it to its late-June footing around the 24th of June.
The Iran conflict has intensified significantly with US Central Command confirming strikes on coastal surveillance systems, air-defense sites, logistics infrastructure and maritime assets for the sixth consecutive night. Reports from the region indicate US forces struck transport links near Bandar Abbas, including the Bandar Khamir overpass, two other bridges in Hormozgan Province and a railway station connected to Shahid Rajaei port. Iran has responded with attacks across the Gulf region, including strikes on Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base where the US operates, while further attacks were reported in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Tehran was still seeking an agreement with Washington, stating "Iran very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us because they are suffering devastating blows on behalf of our United States military." The macro backdrop still deserves respect as global risk assets remain jumpy, with traders reacting to every headline tied to the Iran conflict, though Bitcoin's ability to defend the $64,000 level through the worst of the recent news gives bulls something tangible to lean on.
Despite the broader decline, privacy coins bucked the trend with zcash (ZEC) advancing 1.56% to $531 and dash (DASH) gaining 0.78%, both maintaining relative strength from recent weeks. AI tokens FET and TAO posted gains of about 0.20%, showing resilience from a sector that has struggled to sustain momentum since mid-June. CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season indicator snapped back to 53/100 on Friday, highlighting bitcoin's relative weakness against several altcoin trading pairs. The CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. Bitcoin is trading in a composite spot range of $63,000 to $64,000, with the post-liquidation bounce stalling rather than accelerating, though the recent institutional demand and long-term holder accumulation suggest the pullback may represent a buying opportunity rather than a market top. Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is positioned directly at the intersection of Bitcoin's two biggest structural gaps: slow throughput and near-zero programmability, building the first Bitcoin Layer 2 with Solana Virtual Machine integration, with the presale having raised $32.9 million at a current token price of $0.0136834.
