“This is classic volatility due to rising geopolitical pressures. However, Bitcoin's dominance remains high,” says analyst.

Bitcoin fell by as much as 3.3% over 24 hours on Tuesday (17), intensifying losses after President Donald Trump suggested in a social media post that the U.S. could assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, exacerbating already inflated tensions in the Middle East. As of Wednesday (18), BTC is down 0.8% and trading at $104,353.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently trading just above $105,000. BTC fell to $103,630, its lowest level since June 6, at one point earlier yesterday, according to market data provider CoinGecko. Bitcoin started to decline last Thursday when Israel bombed Iran.

In a piece for Decrypt, Mike Cahill, co-founder and CEO of blockchain infrastructure company Douro Labs, noted a widespread decline in riskier assets, including major stock indices, amid the escalating conflict that re-escalated last Thursday.

“This is classic volatility due to rising geopolitical pressures,” wrote Cahill. “However, Bitcoin's dominance still remains high, showing that even during these uncertain times, digital assets offer an alternative vehicle for investors.”

Ethereum is trading at around $2,497, a 1.7% drop in the last 24 hours, which was as much as 4.5%. The smart contract networks Solana and Cardano, as well as the leading memecoin Dogecoin, also fell about 5%.

In his tweet, Trump said that U.S. forces knew Khamenei's hideout. “He is an easy target, but he is safe there – We will not eliminate him (kill!), at least not for now,” he wrote, demanding “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” from Iran in a subsequent post.

The tech-focused Nasdaq and the S&P 500, which has a strong tech component, were both down about 0.7%.

Strahinja Savic, head of data and analysis at cryptocurrency bank FRNT Financial, noted the “investor risk aversion when there is this level of uncertainty,” although he added to Decrypt that the current reaction was driven more by short-term investor concerns.

“This would lend some credibility to the idea that this safe-haven thesis for Bitcoin has gained legitimacy over the past year,” he wrote. “Short-term sellers are looking to manage risks, take money off the table, and simply go to cash. That’s why we see this decline, and now, for long-term holders, for the ardent Bitcoin investors, this is just another reason to hold Bitcoin.”