The crypto market just got a brutal reminder that bombs overseas can crater portfolios at home. Senator Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called on July 9 for the US to resume sustained airstrikes against Iran, days after American forces hit over 80 Iranian targets in retaliation for attacks on commercial shipping vessels. The escalation has already cost the crypto market roughly $80 billion in total capitalization, with Bitcoin and Ethereum taking the hardest hits.

What’s happening on the ground

The US struck more than 80 strategic Iranian military targets on July 7, responding to Iranian missile and drone assaults on commercial vessels in key shipping lanes. Cotton, a Republican from…