Bitcoin fell below $77,000 on Monday after climbing past $79,000 the previous evening, as renewed military conflict between the United States and Iran rattled financial markets. The decline occurred within hours of the initial selloff.
US forces struck Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, prompting Iranian retaliation against military targets in Jordan. The escalation marked a return to tensions after nearly a month of relative calm.
Market ripple effects: Brent crude oil surged nearly 3% to over $90 per barrel in response to the geopolitical developments. Asian stock markets declined following the strikes, with Japan's Nikkei falling approximately 2%, while South Korea's Kospi and Chinese equities also moved lower. US and European stock futures followed the downward trend.
Bitcoin lost over $2,000 in value during the decline. Ethereum experienced sharper losses, dropping from above $2,500 to under $2,400 within an hour. On-chain data showed that Wintermute transferred 5,100 BTC—worth nearly $400 million—to Binance over two days, a transfer pattern historically preceding major sell-offs.
Liquidations surge: The sharp market movement triggered over $400 million in liquidated positions daily, with more than $200 million liquidated within a single hour. Ethereum longs accounted for approximately $100 million of the total liquidations, while Bitcoin longs represented $62.60 million. The single-largest liquidation involved an Ethereum trader on Aster, wiped out for $6.12 million. More than 100,000 over-leveraged traders were liquidated across the market in the past day.
