Investors have pulled back from risk assets after the US president dampened hopes of an end to the conflict
Published Thu, Apr 2, 2026 · 04:42 PM
[SINGAPORE] Bitcoin tumbled in Asia on Thursday (Apr 2), after US President Donald Trump indicated that there would be harder strikes against Iran in the coming weeks.
Cryptocurrencies fell across the board. Bitcoin dropped as much as 2.5 per cent to roughly US$66,500 at noon in Singapore. Smaller tokens took a bigger hit, with Ether down as much as 4.5 per cent and Solana falling as much as 5.1 per cent.
Investors pulled back from risk assets after a speech from Trump that dampened hopes of an imminent end to the military conflict with Iran.
MSCI’s Asia Pacific share index fell 1.7 per cent, reversing a rebound. Brent crude, meanwhile, jumped more than 5 per cent to above US$106 a barrel.
“Stock and commodity markets continue to whipsaw according to Trump’s latest comments on geopolitical developments,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets.
“Bitcoin is largely following stocks’ direction, though in the past few weeks it has (shown) reduced sensitivity to both good and bad news.”
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Trump’s comments soured the more upbeat sentiment, after remarks earlier this week that he would consider ending the war with Iran before reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway.
Bitcoin had been weathering the war better than many assets. It ended March up 2 per cent from the previous month, snapping a five-month losing streak.
Gold, normally a save-haven asset, ended March down more than 11 per cent, amid concerns about inflation fuelled by disruptions to energy supplies from the Middle East.
Still, Bitcoin demand has remained under pressure since a sell-off in October 2025, leaving the token down roughly 45 per cent from its peak above US$126,000 that month.
Apparent demand, which measures the extent to which demand exceeds or falls short of new Bitcoin being mined, was negative by about 63,000 in late March, a Wednesday report from CryptoQuant showed. BLOOMBERG
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