Bitcoin Stages Tepid Recovery as Iran Strikes Stir Uncertainty

Bitcoin rose as much as 2.2% to $68,196 after Iran confirmed the death of the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before falling back to about $66,500 at 6 a.m. in New York. Roughly $1.9 billion of Bitcoin put options were concentrated at the $60,000 strike price on Deribit, signaling persistent demand for downside protection. Bitcoin has only touched $60,000 on one occasion this year, on Feb. 6.