The conflict entered its fifth week with its widest expansion yet, as Iran-backed forces opened a new front and additional U.S. troops were deployed to the region, raising the risk of further escalation.

Bitcoin briefly weakened on the news. The asset fell to $65,112 early Monday — its lowest since the February sell-off — before rebounding to $67,402 as Asian markets opened, according to CoinDesk data.

The 24-hour range between $65,112 and $67,389 highlights a market that initially sold off on geopolitical headlines but found firm demand around $65,000 — a level not tested since the opening weekend of the conflict.

Major altcoins followed with modest gains. Ethereum rose 2% to $2,044, Solana added 0.9% to $83.48, and XRP climbed 1.4% to $1.35. However, the weekly trend remains softer, with bitcoin down 1%, ethereum 0.9%, XRP 1.9%, and Solana 3.7%. Tron continues to outperform, posting gains of 2.6% over the past 24 hours and 4.6% on the week.

The latest escalation unfolded across multiple fronts. Iran-backed Houthi forces entered the conflict, expanding it beyond the core U.S.-Israel-Iran axis, while the arrival of additional U.S. troops fueled concerns about a potential ground operation.

The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump is weighing a military plan to remove enriched uranium from Iran — a key component in nuclear weapons production — though no decision has been finalized. At the same time, Iran reportedly struck two aluminum production facilities, pushing the metal up as much as 6% and extending the economic fallout beyond oil markets.

Brent crude rose 2.5% to around $115 per barrel, bringing its year-to-date gain to roughly 90%. Asian equities declined sharply, with South Korea’s benchmark falling 3.2% amid a tech-led sell-off and Japan’s Nikkei dropping 3.4%. U.S. stock futures, however, recovered from earlier losses and were trading near flat, suggesting some stabilization.

From a technical perspective, bitcoin’s drop to $65,112 is significant, as it sits close to the $64,000 low recorded on Feb. 28, when the conflict began. Over the past five weeks, bitcoin had established a pattern of higher lows with each escalation — moving from $64,000 to $66,000, $68,000, $69,400, and $70,596.

Monday’s move below $66,000 breaks that sequence for the first time, raising questions about whether the uptrend can resume or if the range that has held since the conflict began is starting to weaken.

Meanwhile, rising oil prices and the spike in aluminum — driven by direct attacks on production facilities — indicate that inflationary pressures are spreading beyond energy into industrial supply chains. This adds complexity to the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook and further pushes out expectations for rate cuts.