Bitcoin, XRP Prices Fall. Strategy's Latest Move Reveals Cryptos' Dilemma. — Barrons.com

[kim]

By Callum Keown

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell Tuesday despite stock futures rising as digital assets struggled to find their place in volatile wartime markets.

Bitcoin was trading at $66,280, down 2% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. Ethereum, the second largest crypto, was down 2.2%, while popular altcoin XRP fell 3%.

Digital assets have had a strange relationship with the Iran war. The price of Bitcoin is up around 1% since the conflict began but after initially spiking to around $75,000 two weeks into the war, it has dropped more than 11% since. It's down 24% since the start of the year.

Regulatory developments have played a part in recent weeks but investors are also struggling to make sense of cryptos' role in a landscape of mounting risks — is it a haven or not?

Strategy Inc., the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, may be grappling with the same question. It didn't buy any Bitcoin last week, according to a filing Monday — the first time this year the company has paused weekly purchases of the world's largest cryptocurrency.

In the first two weeks of the Iran war, Strategy made its second and third largest weekly purchases of 2026 so far — a combined $2.8 billion worth, according to its website. Then in the week beginning March 16 it bought $77 million worth of Bitcoin.

While Strategy's purchases aren't necessarily an indicator of sentiment, it's clear that investors don't know where Bitcoin fits into the Iran war trade.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
source: https://www.tradingview.com/news/DJN_DN20260331002518:0/