Bitcoin drops below $73,000 as US strikes on Iran spark $1 billion liquidations

Crypto majors sold off 3% to 4% and nearly $1 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out after U.S. airstrikes on an Iranian military site near the Strait of Hormuz reignited the conflict markets had started to price out.

What to know:

• Bitcoin fell below $73,000 amid U.S. airstrikes on Iran, triggering a broad sell-off in cryptocurrencies and other risk assets.
• Nearly $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with long positions making up 93 percent of the wipeout and bitcoin and ether leading the losses.
• The strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, new U.S. sanctions on Iran and regional military tensions reversed recent cease-fire optimism, pushing global stocks lower and oil prices higher.

Bitcoin broke below $73,000 for the first time in months as fresh U.S. strikes on Iran sent risk assets lower and triggered one of the largest liquidation events of the year.

Bitcoin BTC$72,909.37 traded at $72,978 in Asian hours Thursday, down 3.4% over 24 hours and 6.3% over the past seven days, per CoinDesk data, after touching a low of $72,912. TEther (ETH) fell 4.2% to $1,976, losing the $2,000 level, and is down 7.7% over the past seven days. Solana (SOL) dropped 3.5% to $80.57, XRP slid 3.6% to $1.28, and Dogecoin lost 3.2% to $0.0979.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) was the only major to hold a weekly gain, down 4.5% on the day but still up 2.4% over the past seven days. Tron (TRX) held a 1.9% weekly gain despite the broad decline.

The drop flushed leveraged traders. CoinGlass data shows $958.8 million in total liquidations over 24 hours across 167,706 traders, with $897 million coming from long positions and $61 million from shorts.

Bitcoin liquidations led at $386 million, followed by ether at $246 million, with the largest single liquidation order was a $15.34 million BTC position on Hyperliquid.

A 93% long-skew on a near-billion-dollar flush is what happens when traders are positioned for a recovery and the market moves the other way. The leverage built up through the mid-May range got cleared in a single session.

The trigger came from the Middle East. U.S. Central Command carried out airstrikes on an Iranian military site near the Strait of Hormuz and shot down four one-way Iranian attack drones fired at a commercial ship, with a U.S. official describing the action as defensive and aimed at maintaining the ceasefire that began last month.

The U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, accusing it of extorting vessels transiting the strait. Iran targeted the American airbase the strikes originated from, according to a report citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Kuwait said it was responding to hostile missile and drone threats, with its army warning that explosions heard in the country were air defense systems intercepting targets.

President Donald Trump said no single nation would control the waterway. "It's international waters," Trump told a cabinet meeting at the White House. "The strait's going to be open to everybody," adding that the U.S. would "watch over it."

Risk assets fell across the board. The MSCI All Country World Index retreated 0.4% from a record high, a gauge of Asian shares dropped 1.7%, and futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 pointed lower. Oil climbed as the strikes clouded the outlook for a deal to reopen the strait.

The reaction shows how quickly the ceasefire optimism that had been building unwound. Crypto had held its range through several weeks of Iran headlines, with bitcoin staying above $74,000 even as ETF demand cooled. Thursday's strikes broke that floor, and the speed of the liquidation cascade suggests traders were caught leaning the wrong way.

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Fund manager Michael Kramer says a $150 billion liquidity drain from upcoming U.S. Treasury operations could push bitcoin sharply lower.

What to know:

• Michael Kramer of Mott Capital Management warns that upcoming U.S. Treasury operations could drain about $150 billion in liquidity, potentially deepening bitcoin's price selloff.
• He argues that bitcoin acts as a leading liquidity indicator and has already broken key support near $75,000 amid an 11% pullback from recent highs.

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