Bitcoin under $64,000 after new U.S. strike on Iran. Trump's China comment adds to uncertainty

Markets Bitcoin under $64,000 after new U.S. strike on Iran. Trump's China comment adds to uncertainty Geopolitical tensions and renewed fears of U.S.-China frictions are weighing on risk assets, including bitcoin. By Omkar Godbole Jul 17, 2026, 4:10 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on BTC's price drops below $64,000. (CoinDesk) Summary Show Bitcoin fell after fresh U.S. airstrikes on Iran weighed on risk sentiment. Asian stocks registered losses, with Japan’s Nikkei falling by nearly 3%. The Australian dollar, a risk proxy, weakened after President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference in the U.S. election. Bitcoin BTC $ 63,457.47 and Asian stocks fell Friday after fresh U.S. airstrikes on Iran raised geopolitical uncertainty. Additionally, President Donald Trump’s allegations that China tampered with the 2020 election hurt risk sentiment, sending the Australian dollar lower. BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, slipped to $63,600, extending Thursday’s nearly 1.4% slide from $65,000, according to CoinDesk data. As of this writing, the cryptocurrency traded just below its 50-day simple moving average, the widely-tracked gauge of near-term momentum. Asian equity markets wilted, with Japan’s Nikkei trading nearly 3% lower at its lowest in over a month. Australia’s ASX 200 slipped by 0.5% alongside a 0.8% drop in futures tied to Nasdaq. Wall Street’s tech-heavy index fell by over 1.6% on Thursday. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted Hormozgan Province Governorate, saying that U.S. airstrikes have hit five bridges in the southern Hormozgan province. A missile strike also hit Iran’s Chabahar maritime control tower. Surprisingly, WTI oil futures held steady at around $79 per barrel, ignoring the geopolitical stress from the fresh wave of U.S. attacks on Iran. In the meantime, the Aussie dollar, a commodity-sensitive currency and G7 proxy for China, fell against the U.S. dollar on fears of renewed U.S.-China tensions. Late Thursday, Trump announced the declassification of intelligence reports alleging Chinese interference in U.S. elections. He claimed that Beijing obtained 220 million U.S. voter records, calling it a major threat to democracy. China's embassy has flatly denied the allegations. The dispute itself isn’t market-moving, but its potential to strain U.S.-China ties ahead of Trump’s September meeting with Xi is likely what’s keeping AUD traders on edge. “Trump's decision to level fresh, sweeping accusations against Beijing weeks ahead of that meeting introduces a new source of friction risk into a relationship that had been steadying,” InvestingLive’s Chief Asia-Pacific Currency Analyst Eamonn Sheridan said in a market update. “The rhetoric itself could complicate the diplomatic runway into September regardless of the underlying facts,” Sheridan added. he AUD’s drop may be a warning that any escalation in U.S.-China tensions could heighten uncertainty and spill over into other risk assets, including BTC. Bitcoin News Related Assets Bitcoin $ 63,468.57 1.73 % Latest Crypto News 1 $1.9 trillion asset manager T. Rowe Price bets on active management with first multi-token crypto ETF 9 hours ago 2 Citadel Securities invests $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing exchange at $20 billion 10 hours ago 3 Stripe’s $53 billion PayPal bid is a high-stakes play to own the future of digital payments 11 hours ago 4 Visa backs Open USD with new stablecoin platform as Circle faces fresh competition 11 hours ago 5 Keyrock acquires BlockFills trading assets to expand institutional crypto business 12 hours ago 6 The Clarity Act is the most important consumer protection effort in years 13 hours ago 7 Crypto for Advisors: Strengthening defenses against AI fraud 13 hours ago 8 Crypto brokerage firm Alpaca raises $135 million for tokenized stock infrastructure 13 hours ago 9 Ledger wants AI agents to manage crypto without holding your keys 15 hours ago 10 Galaxy targets institutional stablecoin yield with new DeFi vaults 16 hours ago Latest Research Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months 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. By CoinDesk Research Jul 13, 2026 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. Why it matters : 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. View Full Report More From Markets $1.9 trillion asset manager T. Rowe Price bets on active management with first multi-token crypto ETF Bitcoin pulls back to $64,000 after hitting monthly high as bears take control Live updates: Bitcoin holding $64,000 as AI momentum stocks continue to tumble More From Bitcoin $1.9 trillion asset manager T. Rowe Price bets on active management with first multi-token crypto ETF Citadel Securities invests $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing exchange at $20 billion Stripe’s $53 billion PayPal bid is a high-stakes play to own the future of digital payments