The price of Bitcoin and other cryptos was falling Tuesday as financial markets more generally paused for breath while the Israel-Iran conflict continued.

Stocks and cryptos fell sharply on Friday, when Israel launched new attacks on its neighbor, but started to recover on Monday. By early Tuesday, the picture was more subdued. Index futures were slipping. Cryptocurrencies were mostly down over the past 24 hours.

Digital assets often trade like risky technology stocks, with the potential to rise sharply when market optimism is strong, but they can also be volatile when sentiment shifts. When geopolitical tensions flare up, markets often fall initially and then build back up as traders assess how serious the situation is.