An image cut depicting the decline in Bitcoin's value. /Courtesy of Twitter

As the military conflict between Israel and Iran escalated, the New York Stock Exchange experienced a decline, causing major cryptocurrency prices to plummet.

As of 8:15 a.m. on the 18th, Bitcoin recorded a price of $104,542 on CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency market data site, down 2.90% from 24 hours earlier.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is trading at $2,509, down 2.71%, while Ripple, the fourth-largest, is down 4.90% to $2.16. Solana is showing a transaction price of $147, down 3.6%.

The decline in cryptocurrency prices is interpreted as a result of the heightened tensions in the Middle East due to the military conflict between Israel and Iran, which has continued for five days. The New York Stock Exchange also closed lower across the board that day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 299.29 points (-0.70%) at 42,215.80. The Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 dropped 50.39 points (-0.84%) to close at 5,982.72, while the Nasdaq fell 180.12 points (-0.91%) to finish at 19,521.09.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump shortened his schedule at the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Canada by a day and headed back home, returning to the White House in the early hours. He then held a meeting with the National Security team in the White House Situation Room to discuss whether to intervene in the Middle Eastern conflict.