Bitcoin price today: up at $69k but rangebound as oil surge stokes inflation fears

 Bitcoin climbed on Monday after slipping over the weekend, but remained rangebound as an escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran sent oil prices surging and rattled global markets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 3% to $69,350.0 by 10:38 ET (14:38 GMT), after falling below $66,000 earlier in the session.

Bitcoin ended last week higher in contrast to other risk assets, due to lesser exposure to oil markets, but lost some momentum over the weekend.

Iran conflict, oil surge spark inflation worries

Oil prices surged sharply on Monday, with crude jumping near $120 per barrel at one point, before retreating to $103.

The spike came after intensifying military exchanges between U.S.–Israeli forces and Iran raised concerns about sustained disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route.

The war entered its second week, with no signs of de-escalation. Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as successor to his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, a move markets see as a continuation of hardline policies and prolonged geopolitical tensions.

The sharp rise in energy prices has revived global inflation concerns and complicated the outlook for major central banks, which had been expected to gradually ease monetary policy this year.

Bitcoin often trades like a high-beta risk asset during periods of macro uncertainty, meaning it tends to fall when investors retreat from riskier investments. 

Asian stocks tumbled in early trade on Monday, while Wall Street futures slipped more than 2%.

The cryptocurrency’s losses over the weekend also reflected the fact that digital asset markets trade around the clock, allowing investors to react immediately to geopolitical news even when traditional financial markets are closed.

Strategy adds $1.28 billion in Bitcoin

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy said it purchased another 17,994 Bitcoin for about $1.28 billion between March 2 and March 8, an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday showed.

The company paid an average price of $70,946 per Bitcoin for the latest acquisition.

Following the purchase, Strategy’s total holdings rose to 738,731 BTC, currently valued at roughly $50 billion. The bitcoin was accumulated at an average cost of $75,862 per coin, representing a total investment of around $56 billion including fees and other expenses, according to company co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor.

Crypto price today: altcoins up but rangebound

Most altcoins also rose on Monday, but gains remained limited. 

World no.2 crypto Ethereum climbed 4% to $2,026.43.

World no. 3 crypto XRP added 1.4% to $1.36.

Solana jumped 4%, while Cardano and Polygon rose nearly 3% each.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin rose 3.3%.