Winners and losers after two weeks of Iran war
Last Updated on 16 March 2026 by CryptoTips.eu
Bitcoin features prominently on the list of winners after two weeks of war in Iran, proving once again that the largest cryptocurrency usually weathers geopolitical developments with ease. Who else is on that list, and who are the big losers? An overview.
Winners: oil, Bitcoin and the US dollar
Oil is the clear winner of the conflict, with a price increase of 30 to as much as 40% on several trading markets. As long as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, this will not change.
Bitcoin has performed very well since the conflict began and is clearly on track to (attempt to) rise again in the coming days. Analysts are seeing a shift of investment funds from gold to both oil and Bitcoin in order to diversify their ‘safe haven’ investments.
If Bitcoin can climb over the $75,000 hurdle, things could move very quickly. The US dollar had already lost a fair amount of ground against other fiat currencies over the past year, so a short rise was quite logical. America can easily arm itself against an oil crisis as it possesses oil of its own.
Losers: gold, the S&P 500 and the Asian stock markets
Gold was the surprising loser of the Iran war so far, even though the loss percentage is very limited (1 to 2%). Analysts believe that the large price rise in gold in 2025, as well as the diversification of investors into other ‘safe havens’, is the cause of the movement this time.
The S&P 500 is the most diversified indicator of the US economy, and it was already sputtering before Donald Trump decided to attack Iran (job figures have been negative recently). The higher energy costs that companies will pass on are also eating into corporate future profits. For all these reasons, the S&P fell by 5%.
Stock markets in Asia, and particularly the South Korean market, were the biggest losers of the conflict so far. Since all these countries (except China) derive virtually all their energy from the Middle East, a continuation of the conflict will cause stock markets there to fall even further. The Kospi, the main stock exchange in South Korea, lost 14% in two weeks.
