Bitcoin breaks below $83,000 as oil climbs past $102 on Iran strike-plan report

Bitcoin slipped below $83,000 late Wednesday, Pacific time, extending a two-day slide that has tracked rising oil prices and Treasury yields. It fell about 1.6% to just under $82,800 during Thursday morning trading in Asia, CoinDesk reported.

FxPro had said on Tuesday that a break below $83,000 would confirm sellers were in control and could send bitcoin toward $80,000 fairly quickly.

The trigger was oil. Brent crude rose about 2% to above $102 a barrel after a report that the White House had asked the Pentagon for strike options against Iran, according to CoinDesk, which did not name the outlet behind the report. Iran had already stepped up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this week. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to about 5.31%, near its highest since 2002.

Other large tokens fell too. XRP dropped nearly 4% to about $1.42 and ether fell about 3% to roughly $2,570. On Wednesday, about $550 million in leveraged positions were wiped out, CoinGlass data showed, most of them long.

What to watch: CoinDesk noted that a move in Brent back below $100 would ease the pressure on bitcoin. Traders are also watching the $80,000 level FxPro named.