Bitcoin slides toward $62,000 as Hormuz tensions hit risk assets

Bitcoin moved closer to $62,000 on Monday as investors pulled back from riskier assets during renewed US-Iran tensions. For everyday crypto holders, the move shows how quickly geopolitics can spill into digital assets when oil, stocks and trader positioning all shift at once.

Cointelegraph, citing TradingView data, reported that BTC/USD was trading near $62,803.84, down 2.16%, as Wall Street opened lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1% at the time of the report, while US WTI crude oil was around $75 a barrel.

The pressure followed comments from US President Donald Trump to Fox News about the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil shipments that Iran closed over the weekend, according to Cointelegraph. Trump told Fox that the US would keep the strait and would “probably run it,” adding that the US should become its “guardian.”

That matters for markets because the Strait of Hormuz is tied to oil supply. When traders see higher risk around energy routes, oil prices can rise, and investors often reduce exposure to assets that tend to swing more sharply, including tech stocks and crypto.

Traders point to heavy shorting

Cointelegraph reported that Bitcoin sellers stayed in control after an initial drop following the weekly close. JDK Analysis, an analytics account on X, said there had been large short activity before the New York open.

Shorting means traders are positioning for a price decline. JDK Analysis said Bitcoin was sitting near mVWAP, or multi-exchange volume-weighted average price. VWAP is a trading benchmark that compares price with the amount traded, and some traders treat it as a level where buyers need to step in.

JDK Analysis said bulls needed to defend that area and warned that $60,000 could come back into focus if selling continued. The account also said spot selling was present. Spot trading means immediate buying or selling of Bitcoin, rather than trading derivatives such as futures.

Another market commentator, Exitpump, also posted on X that aggressive shorting had increased while open interest was still rising. Open interest is the total number of outstanding derivatives contracts, and a rise can signal that more traders are adding leveraged bets.

Some traders still see a rebound setup

Despite the drop, Cointelegraph reported that some traders kept a more optimistic view. Trader Roman pointed to the relative strength index, volume and exchange data as signals that downside pressure could be fading.

The relative strength index, or RSI, is a momentum indicator traders use to judge whether an asset may be overbought or oversold. Roman said on X that there were higher-time-frame and lower-time-frame signs pointing to the $70,000 to $75,000 area, and that exchange data showed more spot Bitcoin being bought than sold.

Cointelegraph also said it had previously reported expectations from some market watchers for more Bitcoin upside in July before a possible later decline and a potential third-quarter macro bottom near $50,000.

The immediate setup remains tied to two forces: geopolitical headlines affecting oil and stocks, and crypto-specific positioning around Bitcoin’s $62,000 to $60,000 zone. For retail investors tracking BTC on a phone screen, the key takeaway is that Bitcoin is trading less like an isolated crypto story and more like part of the wider risk-asset reaction to the US-Iran situation.

This story draws on original reporting from Cointelegraph.