Although geopolitical tensions continue to rise, Bitcoin has not experienced significant price movement. NoOnes CEO Ray Youssef offers insight into the reasons behind this stability.
Increasing conflict in the Middle East is revealing a weakness in the way some traders perceive Bitcoin (BTC). Rather than serving as a hedge, Bitcoin is reacting more like a technology stock, according to Ray Youssef, CEO of NoOnes, a peer-to-peer crypto payments and trading platform.
Markets usually don’t like surprises — but lately, crypto doesn’t seem to react much. Over the past week, we’ve seen a major hack targeting Iran’s biggest crypto exchange, growing tensions in the Middle East, and even signs of digital warfare. Yet crypto prices have barely moved
Ray Yossef, NoOnes
Youssef also pointed to the $100 million security breach at Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The hack—most likely carried out by Predatory Sparrow, a hacking group reportedly linked to Israel—would have triggered major concern in the past.
Typically, rising geopolitical tensions boost hedge assets, but Bitcoin showed little response and remained near the $105,000 level. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) has continued trading between $2,120 and $2,330 for the seventh consecutive week, even with substantial whale inflows totaling 871,000 ETH within just one week.
Bitcoin Falls Short as a Hedge Asset for Now, Says Youssef
According to Youssef, Bitcoin’s stagnant performance indicates that its reputation as a hedge asset is losing relevance in the current market landscape.
Bitcoin no longer appears to function as a hedge asset; instead, it behaves more like a high-beta tech stock, caught in the macro winds but not really steering its own ship. The link between BTC and the Nasdaq 100 is still strong at 0.68,” Ray Yossef, NoOnes.
Nevertheless, Youssef observes that rising geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping the broader crypto market. Bitcoin’s dominance is nearing 66% as traders move away from higher-risk altcoins. Should global tensions keep intensifying, this shift toward BTC could speed up—particularly if capital controls, sanctions, or disruptions to infrastructure come into play.
