By Alex Kozul-Wright
Bitcoin was treading water at around $70,000 early Friday. The world's premier currency is on track to finish this week in the red, as energy price jumps linked to the war in Iran overshadowed a key U.S. regulatory breakthrough for digital assets.
Bitcoin was down 0.1% to $70,305, according to CoinDesk data. Over the past five trading days, the world's biggest cryptocurrency dropped by around 6.1%. Elsewhere, Ethereum and XRP were also trading in the red Friday -- by 1.6% and 1%, respectively.
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's plan Wednesday to allow the trading of certain equities and exchange-traded products in tokenized forms on the blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, The Wall Street Journal reported.
While the move was widely perceived as a regulatory win for digital assets, signs that the Iran war could stoke inflation and push central banks toward tighter monetary policy have been a net negative for risk assets such as cryptocurrencies this week.
Higher-for-longer interest rates, or even the prospect of rate hikes, are bad news for Bitcoin.
Write to Alex Kozul-Wright at alexander.kozul-wright@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2026 03:59 ET (07:59 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
