Bitcoin bears pay to bet on further declines as futures positions near yearly lows

This follows a 2% bitcoin price drop to $82,800 24 hours after President Donald Trump declined to rule out further strikes on Iran before the U.S. midterm elections.

However, bitcoin is still more than $20,000 above its summer cycle low and is still the best performing asset of the third quarter.

Gold under pressure as dollar rises

Bitcoin is not the only nursing losses.

Gold is also down 3% over the past 24 hours, trading around $4,150 an ounce. The bitcoin to gold ratio, which measures how many ounces of gold one bitcoin can buy, is approaching 20 which is on the verge of going positive for the year.

Meanwhile, the DXY index, which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, has climbed above 101, as U.S. Treasury yields continue to rise. The 10-year yield is above 5.2%, while the 30-year yield is above 5.51%.

A resilient U.S. economy may be supporting both the dollar and yields, although stubborn inflation concerns could also be pushing borrowing costs higher. Higher yields mean lower prices for bonds: TLT, an ETF holding long-dated US Treasuries, has fallen to around $79, an all-time low.

Rising yields also make interest-bearing assets more attractive relative to bitcoin and gold, which pays no income.