U.S.-Iran Nuclear Negotiations Reach Impasse. Safe-Haven Flows Pour Into Gold and Silver as Crypto Market Comes Under Pressure

TradingKey - Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have collapsed, causing safe-haven demand to surge. Gold and silver have attracted capital inflows, while the crypto market remains sluggish.

During the early Asian session on February 28, the cryptocurrency market came under pressure, falling 1.9% as total market capitalization dropped to $2.27 trillion. Among them, Bitcoin (BTC) prices fell more than 2% today, currently trading at $65,835, breaking below the mid-line of the $18,000-$22,000 range as bears hold a dominant advantage.

Bitcoin price chart, Source: TradingView

Over the past month, Bitcoin prices have fallen by a cumulative total of over 26%, far exceeding gold (XAUUSD) during the same period and silver (XAGUSD). In early February, gold saw a maximum drawdown of over 50%, while silver saw its value cut in half before gradually rebounding.

Recently, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran reached a stalemate, heating up safe-haven demand and driving precious metal prices to rebound further, narrowing the losses for gold and silver. Over the past month, gold's decline narrowed to 3%, while silver's narrowed to 9%.

Gold price chart, Source: TradingView

Regarding the outcome of the U.S.-Iran negotiations, U.S. President Trump stated, "We are not satisfied with the negotiations with Iran. We demand that Iran does not engage in uranium enrichment. Iran has not found the right answer." On whether the U.S. would use military force against Iran, Trump remarked, "I don't want to do that, but sometimes you have to."

In response to this situation, countries such as France, Belgium, Poland, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, and Greece have issued advisories, recommending that citizens avoid traveling to the Middle East, including Iran and Israel. It is evident that the situation could deteriorate further at any time, which provides support for the strengthening of gold and silver prices.