Bitcoin opened at $77,395.89 on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, marking a 1.5% decline from the previous day's open, while ethereum started trading at $2,417.66, down 2.0% from Tuesday. By 7:13 a.m. ET, bitcoin had slipped to $76,597.13 and ethereum fell further to $2,373.76, a drop attributed to renewed U.S. airstrikes on Iranian targets and subsequent Iranian retaliation with rockets and drones.
The escalation in the conflict has pushed oil prices higher, intensifying inflation concerns ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for later this month. Rising energy costs are increasing the likelihood of a rate hike, a development that pressures cryptocurrency valuations because these digital assets do not pay interest. This macroeconomic headwind appears to be driving the morning's sell-off in both major tokens.
Despite the immediate downturn, longer-term performance metrics for both assets remain mixed. Bitcoin's opening price is 1.5% lower than it was one week ago, but it stands 23.3% higher than one month ago and 29.2% below its level from one year prior. Ethereum shows a similar pattern, trading 1% lower than last week but 31.2% higher than a month ago and 44% lower than a year ago.
Historical context underscores the volatility of these markets. Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $126,198.07 on October 6, 2025, while its all-time low was recorded at $0.04865 on July 14, 2010. Ethereum peaked at $4,953.73 on August 24, 2025, having previously hit an all-time low of $0.4209 on October 21, 2015.
Investors navigating these price swings should also consider tax implications for their portfolios. Selling cryptocurrency for a profit or exchanging one digital asset for another constitutes a taxable event under IRS rules. These gains are not paid at the time of the transaction but are reported on the annual tax return for the year in which the trade occurred. The final tax liability depends on the holding period and the investor's overall taxable income; holding an asset for less than a year typically results in higher rates than holding it longer, with timing differences potentially altering tax rates by up to 17%.