Greg Guenthner

Bitcoin Spikes to $70K as Trump Says 'Large-Scale Operations' Continue in Iran

The price of Bitcoin jumped to a two-week high near $70,000 on Monday, pushing higher alongside riskier assets as the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Iran entered its third day.

The leading digital asset by market cap recently changed hands around $68,938, a 4.4% increase over the past day, according to CoinGecko. Some platforms, including Coinbase and CoinMarketCap, showed Bitcoin briefly rising above the $70,000 mark late Monday morning before ticking back down.

Bitcoin had fallen as low as $63,100 early Saturday, following initial word of bombings in Iran, and then ticked up throughout the day amid initial reports of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death.

On Monday, Ethereum had risen 3.2% over the past day to $2,032. Meanwhile, Solana and XRP had increased 3.5% to $87 and 1.3% to $1.39, respectively.

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Ray Blanco:

SpaceX To Expand Starlink’s Mobile Coverage As It Seeks $1.75 Trillion IPO Valuation

At the Mobile World Congress keynote Monday morning, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Starlink VP of Engineering Michael Nicolls said the company plans to offer broadband-level cellular service through its direct-to-cell product, now branded Starlink Mobile.

The company aims to grow from 10 million active monthly users today to 25 million by the end of 2026. The service is designed to give consumers access to high-speed internet, including video calls in remote areas using unmodified smartphones. Still, SpaceX emphasized that satellite service is not meant to replace traditional cellular networks.

Last month, the company announced it had acquired SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, creating a combined company that spans rockets, satellite broadband, mobile connectivity, and artificial intelligence. Bloomberg reported Friday that SpaceX is preparing to file IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as March, targeting a valuation as high as $1.75 trillion. 

At the time of the merger, the combined company was valued at around $1.25 trillion. The higher valuation estimate suggests investors see businesses like Starlink’s internet service, and potentially Starlink Mobile, as key drivers of revenue beyond rocket launches.

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Davis Wilson:

U.S.-Iran War: Your Market Playbook

The U.S. struck Iran over the weekend. Before I get to the market ramifications, I’d like to acknowledge the American service members who lost their lives. My thoughts are with their families and loved ones as this situation unfolds.

With that said, I’ll continue to focus on what I do best – figuring out the market impact of geopolitical events like this.

The stock market opened sharply lower this morning. Oil prices are rising. Gold is catching a bid. Volatility is spiking.

In reality, this is a playbook we’ve seen many times before. Geopolitical event → the stock market sinks → oil prices spike → eventually we rebound to new highs.

We saw this in March 2003 with the U.S. Invasion of Iraq, in April 2017 with the U.S. MOAB Bomb Drop on ISIS, and in February 2022 during Russia's Invasion of Ukraine. I could go on.

Here's the truth: AI spending doesn’t stop because of a regime change in Iran. Consumers aren’t suddenly canceling subscriptions. And businesses aren’t postponing investments over geopolitical risks that have become increasingly common.

Today is the risk-off selling. Pretty soon we’ll hit new highs. It happens every time.

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