Bitcoin falls back to 104K as tensions in the Middle East escalate, with the market focusing on the Fed's interest rate decision

Here is the English translation: Due to growing concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East potentially leading to more direct U.S. involvement, oil prices rose and U.S. stocks fell. Cryptocurrencies also declined across the board, with BTC retreating to 104K and ETH trading at $2,512 before the time of writing. The market will closely monitor today's Federal Reserve rate decision and the post-meeting press conference by Chair Powell. According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, U.S. President Trump met with his national security team to discuss the escalating Middle East conflict, sparking speculation about potential U.S. involvement in Israel's attack on Iran. Trump issued a statement demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender" and warned of a possible attack on Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claiming the U.S. knows exactly where the supreme leader is hiding. He can be easily hit, but he is safe there - we won't kill him! At least not yet! The U.S. reported May retail sales at -0.9%, declining for the second consecutive month, indicating consumer concerns about tariffs and financial conditions have cooled the early-year spending enthusiasm. Industrial production declined, and homebuilder confidence dropped to its lowest level since December 2022. As Federal Reserve officials convene for a two-day meeting in Washington, traders expect the Fed to maintain interest rates unchanged in June and July, but may signal intentions through revised economic and rate forecasts on Wednesday. The Fed will release a statement at 2:00 AM Taiwan time on June 19, followed by Chair Powell's press conference at 2:30 AM. BTC declined from 108K to a low of $103,371, recovering to 104K before writing. ETH also dropped to $2,453 and was trading at $2,512. According to Coinglass, $418 million in crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours, with ETH accounting for $120 million and BTC for $100 million. The Fear and Greed Index reached a neutral level of 53, suggesting market sentiment has become somewhat tepid. Ark Invest sold all shares of Circle through three of its funds on 6/16, totaling 342,658 shares. At the closing price of $151, they raised $51.74 million. Compared to the IPO price of $31, they earned $41.11 million in less than two weeks, with a return on investment of 387%.

However, IPO is usually only open to professional investors, and general investors can only buy directly in the secondary market on the listing day. On the day Circle matched, it opened directly at $69.5, indicating that even if investors buy at market price directly at the opening, the cost would be at least $69.5, with a return rate of up to 118% so far.

If Ark had purchased at the IPO price of $31, the investment return would have been as high as 387%. Previously, ABMedia had also analyzed Circle's full-year 2024 financial report, and its P/E ratio has reached 218.

(Circle officially listed tonight, is the IPO price of $31 worth rushing for?)