Bitcoin Crashes to $72k as U.S.–Iran Tensions Rise After Talks Collapse

The Bitcoin price is crashing again today as geopolitical tensions rise, with the proposed talks between the U.S. and Iran reportedly collapsing. BTC is now at risk of losing the psychological $70,000 level as support, while the unrealized loss on Michael Saylor’s Strategy Bitcoin investment has climbed above $2 billion.

Bitcoin Falls To $72,000 Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

The BTC price briefly fell to as low as $72,000 today and is trading at around $73,000 at the time of writing. The drop to $72,000 marked a new yearly low for the flagship crypto, which is down over 16% year-to-date (YTD).

This Bitcoin crash comes amid an Axios report that the planned talks between the U.S. and Iran this Friday look unlikely to happen. This development could further escalate tensions between the two countries, as President Donald Trump had earlier warned of military action that could be worse than last year’s strikes.

Today’s drop further extends the BTC price decline, which had begun yesterday after a brief bounce to around $78,000 on Monday. Following this latest crash, crypto traders are increasing their bets on the likelihood of Bitcoin falling to $70,000.

Polymarket data show a 73% chance that the flagship crypto will drop to this level this month, bringing it to its lowest level since October 2024. Meanwhile, BTC’s decline has also sparked a sell-off in the broader crypto market, with over $800 million in liquidations in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data.

The Bitcoin decline is also putting pressure on the MSTR stock, which is down 7% on the day. Strategy’s BTC investment is now at an unrealized loss of over $2.6 billion, according to DropsTab data. As CoinGape reported earlier this week, Strategy holds 713,502 BTC, which it acquired for $54.26 billion at an average price of $76,052 per Bitcoin. It announced that it acquired 855 BTC for $75.3 million last week.

BTC Could Still Crash To As Low As $38,000

Investment bank Stiffel has warned that Bitcoin could still fall to as low as $38,000. They predict that this price crash could happen based on past cycles, a hawkish Fed pivot, slowing U.S. crypto regulation, shrinking liquidity, and heavy ETF outflows.

Notably, Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair has sparked bearish sentiments as market participants are concerned that the former Fed Governor could push for a smaller balance sheet, which could further shrink liquidity. The BTC ETFs also continue to see significant outflows, which is contributing to the sell pressure.

Meanwhile, the timeline for when the CLARITY Act will pass remains uncertain, as banks and the crypto industry debate whether the crypto bill should include a ban on stablecoin yields. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan had previously warned that failure to pass this crypto bill this year could stall the 2026 bull run. However, there are concerns that BTC may already be in a bear market and that the focus should be on when it will form a bottom.

In his latest market note, Hougan stated that the bear market has been ongoing since last year and that the crypto winter should be ending soon. He also noted that crypto winters typically end in exhaustion, not excitement.