Over $1.1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours after Bitcoin and Ethereum dropped sharply following Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The global crypto market saw a major shake-up early Friday as traders reacted to rising Middle East tensions.
Bitcoin fell more than 5%, dropping from around $108,000 on Thursday to below $103,000, and is now training at 105,443. Meanwhile, Ethereum dropped over 10%, giving up its recent gains and now trading at $2,531.
According to Coinglass, Bitcoin liquidations totaled nearly $444 million, while Ethereum saw $291 million in wiped-out positions. In total, over 246,000 traders were liquidated.
Most of the losses came from long positions, which made up about 91% of the total, based on Coinglass data. The biggest single liquidation happened on Binance, a $201 million BTCUSDT long position. Binance led with $456 million in total liquidations, followed by Bybit with $372 million and OKX with $126 million.
The sell-off began after Israel initiated “Operation Rising Lion,” targeting Iranian nuclear plants and military bases, including the Natanz enrichment facility. Iran’s state media confirmed the deaths of several senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a top nuclear scientist.
Bitcoin, often called “digital gold,” failed to hold its ground during this crisis. While gold and oil prices rose, Bitcoin and Ethereum saw big outflows. According to Orbit Markets co-founder Caroline Mauron, “Crypto is reacting negatively to the Israel-Iran strikes, in line with major risk assets. We expect technical support around $101,000, but geopolitical news will dominate short-term price action.”
Market analysts also noted increased trading volume and said indicators like MACD suggest Bitcoin might be oversold, though there’s no clear sign of a rebound yet.
That said, A 2022 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that geopolitical conflicts can cause crypto price swings of up to 20%. This recent drop follows that trend, as fear and uncertainty push traders to exit fast.
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