Bitcoin fell below $78,000 on Tuesday as Middle East tensions drove crude oil higher and risk assets sold off across Wall Street.
Bitcoin touched $77,600 before recovering modestly, its lowest level since September 3. The selloff came as Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabian cities and oil infrastructure weighed on equities in the first trading session after Labor Day.
WTI crude surged to near $95 per barrel, its highest reading since June 8. Brent crude also climbed, targeting $100 for the first time since July 24. The oil spike added pressure to stock indexes: the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% at the time of writing.
Trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted the surge is already lifting inflation expectations, pointing to a concurrent record rise in US diesel prices. A Consumer Price Index report is due Friday.
US President Donald Trump addressed the oil spike in a Monday Truth Social post, writing that prices will "drop precipitously" when the US prevails in its conflict with Iran, projecting gasoline could fall to below $2 per gallon.
On the Bitcoin chart, analyst Rekt Capital drew parallels to a failed breakout in May, when BTC reached $82,800 before reversing, consolidating around $78,300 and eventually falling to macro lows near $57,000. He warned that a weekly close below $78,300 followed by a bearish retest would confirm a similar breakdown.
Rekt Capital said the current zone is now being tested again. Should support fail, he argued it would seal another lower high in a sequence stretching back to October 2025, keeping Bitcoin's broader bear-market structure intact.
