Analyst: Bitcoin Weakens Impact of Hormuz Strait Closure

JAKARTA - The crypto asset market is under pressure amid rising global geopolitical tensions. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has dropped 1.87 percent to a level of US$74,275 or around Rp1.27 billion.

In the midst of market weakness, a number of crypto assets actually recorded significant gains. Solidus AI Tech (AITECH) led the list of top gainers with a 67 percent jump, followed by Pieverse (PIEVERSE) up 51.56 percent and Gunz (GUN) strengthened 42.80 percent.

Conversely, the biggest pressure was experienced by Request (REQ) which fell 43.23 percent, Phoenix (PHB) weakened 32.65 percent, and Avaai (AVAAI) corrected 23.10 percent. The data was taken at 08.00 WIB.

Financial Expert Ajaib, Panji Yudha, said that the sharp volatility occurred after the market had previously been optimistic on Friday, April 17 when Bitcoin broke through the level of 78,000 US dollars (Rp. 1.33 billion).

Positive sentiment emerged after the announcement of an Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire and Iran's statement that the Strait of Hormuz remained open to commercial vessels.

But the situation changed quickly on April 19 after Iran rejected a second phase of negotiations with the United States. The total closure of the Strait of Hormuz then triggered concerns about global energy supplies, given that the route flows around 20 percent of the world's oil trade.

Even though it is overshadowed by geopolitical risks, Panji sees institutional data actually showing that the confidence of major investors is still strong. Based on SoSoValue data, the flow of funds into the Spot Bitcoin ETF has recorded a positive trend for three consecutive weeks.

Panji assessed that the movement of the crypto market this week will be very sensitive to the release of US economic data, including ADP Employment and unemployment claims, as well as the development of the Clarity Act regulation in the US Senate.

In addition, the dynamics of US-Iranian diplomacy and the condition of the Strait of Hormuz will be the main factors that determine the direction of liquidity in the risky asset market.

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