$BTC SAFETY FIRST ⛑️

Markets are on the edge as fears mount that the war between Israel and Hamas could widen to other countries in the region, pushing investors toward so-called safe haven assets such as gold. Bitcoin has also got a bump this morning, climbing 3%.

The rest of the crypto top ten has followed bitcoin higher, with ethereum adding almost 2% and major rival solana making gains of almost 4%. Further down the charts, bitcoin SV, a fork of a fork of bitcoin, has added almost 10% for no discernible reason, while minor coins trust wallet and loom have continued to make ground after a strong start to the month.

Meanwhile, the so-called "GBTC discount" difference between the price of Grayscale shares and the underlying value of the bitcoin it holds has narrowed to its lowest in 22 months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not appeal a court order to reexamine Grayscale's application to convert its close-ended bitcoin trust into an open-ended spot-based exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Good to know: Pentagon officials are monitoring a bitcoin mining operation in Wyoming due to worries the owners' ties to China could pose a national security threat