Major cryptocurrencies are falling as international oil prices rise on heightened Middle East tensions.
According to CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency market site, as of 8:22 a.m. on the 8th, Bitcoin was trading at $63,619, down 0.74% from 24 hours earlier. Ethereum was down 1.33% at $1,778, and Ripple (XRP) was down 2.48% at $81.
On the 7th (local time) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery settled at $70.44 per barrel, up $1.89 (2.76%) from the previous session. On the London ICE Futures Exchange, Brent crude for September delivery was $74.16 per barrel, up $2.17 (3.01%).
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and the Qatari government said that within a day, one Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier and two oil tankers came under attack by Iran while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. After that, the Donald Trump U.S. administration decided to revoke waivers on sanctions for Iranian oil, and tensions in the Middle East are again escalating.