Bitcoin fell below $70,000 for the first time in days, closing at $70,182.6 after a 3.1% drop on Friday, despite briefly touching $74,000 earlier in the week. This decline came as escalating conflict in the Middle East, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, triggered a sharp oil price surge exceeding 16% this week. Higher crude costs fueled renewed inflation fears, prompting investors to scale back expectations for imminent U.S. interest rate cuts and strengthening the dollar, which pressured risk assets including cryptocurrencies.

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint handling roughly 20% of the world's supply, remains a major concern due to potential shipping disruptions from the ongoing conflict. This uncertainty has kept oil prices elevated and complicated central bank policy outlooks. Despite the broader risk-off sentiment, Bitcoin showed relative resilience by holding above the psychologically important $70,000 threshold, a level often seen as a key support for the cryptocurrency market.

Altcoins also weakened, with Ethereum dropping 3% to $2,069.03 and Solana easing 1.6%. The broader market remains cautious as geopolitical tensions persist, though Bitcoin's weekly performance still points to a 7% gain despite Friday's pullback.