Bitcoin Breaks Through $73,000! Outperforms Gold Amid US-Iran War, EF Sells 10.2 Million ETH

During the outbreak of the US-Iran war, Bitcoin broke through $73,000, decoupling from tech stocks and gold. At the same time, the Ethereum Foundation sold approximately $10.2 million worth of Ether to maintain operations.

Bitcoin Breaks $73,000, Decoupling from Tech Stocks and Gold

Bitcoin ($BTC) is heading toward its strongest weekly performance since September 2025, briefly surpassing $73,000, diverging from the overall market trend.

Using the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as a five-day indicator, IBIT has risen about 3.5% and approached a one-month high on Friday, while iShares Expanded Tech Software ETF (IGV), gold, and US stocks have all declined over the past week, indicating that Bitcoin is at least in the short term beginning to decouple from software and tech stocks.

Since the outbreak of US-Iran conflict in early March, Bitcoin has gained approximately 13%, outperforming traditional risk assets and safe-haven assets.

Since March, Bitcoin has risen about 8%, marking its first positive month since September 2025. Before this rebound, Bitcoin experienced five consecutive months of decline, dropping 50% from its October all-time high.

Bitcoin Holds Support, Analysts Optimistic Toward $80,000

In addition to staying above $70,000, Bitcoin’s price remains stable above key long-term levels, namely the 200-week exponential moving average (EMA) at $68,300 and the 2021 historical high of $69,400.

Renowned crypto trader Michaël van de Poppe analyzed last week that recent Friday pullbacks are mainly due to investors hedging risk and avoiding holding positions over the weekend.

He expects the market to shift back, potentially filling the CME Bitcoin futures gap and continuing upward toward resistance levels of $75,000 to $80,000.

He previously accurately predicted that Bitcoin would retest the CME Group Bitcoin futures market’s Friday closing price of $71,325.

Downside Risks Remain, Selling Mainly for Profit-Taking

Meanwhile, geopolitical risks remain a focus among traders. As global oil supply shocks continue to unfold, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is attempting to break back above $100 per barrel this weekend.

According to Cointelegraph, crypto analyst Kyle Doops commented last week that if the overall economic environment stabilizes, this structure could easily turn into a rebound. However, under current conditions, downside risks have not disappeared.

Doops analyzes Bitcoin’s medium-term trading range, defined by two key boundaries: the real market average price at $78,400 and the total realized supply at $54,400.

In shorter timeframes, every time the price breaks above $70,000, sellers appear, which is typical profit-taking behavior, with no signs of panic selling.

Market Remains in Extreme Fear, Investors Adjust Pricing Strategies

Foreign media CoinDesk further notes that current market sentiment remains highly cautious, with the crypto fear and greed index staying in the extreme fear zone.

At the same time, funding rates for perpetual contracts remain negative. Funding rates are periodic payments exchanged between traders in perpetual contracts to keep the contract price aligned with the spot market.

When funding rates are negative, it indicates that shorts are paying longs, showing a dominance of bearish positions, with traders willing to pay to maintain their short exposure.

While this does not necessarily mean Bitcoin has fully shaken off warning signs and is ready to surge, it does indicate that investors are no longer pricing it purely as a risk asset.

• What does funding rate mean? How is it calculated? How to check Binance funding rates (illustrated)

Ethereum Foundation OTC Sells Coins to BitMine

Amidst a short-term market rebound, the Ethereum Foundation has completed an OTC trade, selling 5,000 ETH to Ether reserve company BitMine. Based on an agreed price of $2,042.96 per ETH, the total transaction value is approximately $10.2 million.

The Ethereum Foundation stated that proceeds from this sale will support core operations, including protocol development, ecosystem projects, and community grants, with on-chain transfers made from the Foundation’s secure multi-signature wallet.

This is the second time the Ethereum Foundation has directly sold ETH to a corporate buyer via OTC. In July 2025, the Foundation sold 10,000 ETH to SharpLink Gaming at an average price of $2,572.37 per ETH, totaling about $25.7 million.

Read more:
Vitalik’s selling Tom Lee’s buying! BitMine scoops up over 50,000 ETH: Three key fundamentals supporting the market

This content is compiled by Crypto Agent from various sources, reviewed and edited by Crypto City. It is still in training, so there may be logical biases or inaccuracies. The content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.