Bitcoin Slides to $61K After $64K Rejection, Middle East Tension Weighs on Sentiment

TL;DR:

• BTC was rejected near $64,000 and slid just under $61,000 within roughly 12 hours as Middle East tension hit sentiment.
• The move followed a brutal week that took BTC from about $73,000 to a 19-month low near $59,100.
• Altcoins sold off harder, with ETH near $1,600, BNB at $585, XRP down over 5%, SOL below $65 and total crypto capitalization falling below $2.2 trillion as risk appetite weakened across markets.

Bitcoin’s attempt to turn relief into recovery failed again after the asset was rejected near $64,000 and slid to just under $61,000 within roughly 12 hours. The reversal followed renewed Middle East tension, including reports that Iran had taken down a U.S. helicopter and a warning from the U.S. president that Washington had to respond. The uneasy signal is that geopolitical fear quickly overpowered the rebound, leaving BTC fighting to reclaim $61,000.

Fresh selling interrupts Bitcoin’s fragile recovery

The drop landed after one of Bitcoin’s most violent stretches in months. BTC entered the previous business week around $73,000 before losing $70,000, $65,000 and $62,000 in rapid succession. The selloff culminated on Friday, when sellers pushed the asset below $60,000 for the first time since early February and down to a 19-month low near $59,100. The market escaped the cliff, but not the damage, as the rebound only rebuilt part of the broken support structure.

Bitcoin did manage to recover over the weekend, reclaiming $60,000 by Friday’s close, then moving to $61,000 and $62,000 before twice testing $64,000 at the start of the new business week. Both attempts failed. Its market capitalization slipped to about $1.225 trillion, while dominance over altcoins fell to 56%. That weaker dominance shows stress is spreading unevenly, because BTC is no longer simply absorbing risk while smaller assets fall.

Altcoins took the sharper hit. Ethereum dropped more than 3% toward $1,600, BNB fell to $585, Dogecoin slid to $0.084, XRP lost over 5% while testing support again, Solana traded below $65 and Cardano kept falling toward $0.16. HYPE and ZEC suffered double-digit losses, reaching $56 and $425, while SIREN plunged 37%, LAB dropped 16% and DEXE lost 15%. The broader market is bleeding with selective exceptions, as BEAT gained 28%, WBT rose 13% and STABLE added 12%. Still, total crypto capitalization erased more than $60 billion in one day and fell below $2.2 trillion, showing that the $64,000 rejection turned quickly from a failed breakout into another market-wide risk reset. For traders, the message is blunt: without sustained recovery above $64,000, geopolitics can keep turning fragile bounces into fast liquidity tests across majors and high-beta altcoins alike this week for now.