Bitcoin BTC $68,458.29 is trading near $68,250, returning to a price range that dates back to early February after multiple failed attempts to convincingly surpass $75,000.

The most recent selloff occurred on Saturday, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to «obliterate» Iran’s power plants unless the country opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

The weekend price action led to a CME gap — the difference between the price of bitcoin when futures on the exchange end the week on Friday and when they resume trading on Sunday evening. That gap would be filled if bitcoin recovers to $70,000 on Monday.

Gold and silver took another leg down on Monday with January’s record highs now seemingly confirmed as a result of speculative mania rather than a genuine safe-haven move.

In contrast, the Dollar Index (DXY) is back trading above 100, buoyed by inflation fears and a halt to the Fed’s interest-rate-cutting cycle.

The altcoin market has underperformed bitcoin since midnight UTC, with decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens ETHFI, HYPE and SKY losing around 3% while BTC is in the black after falling on Saturday and Sunday.