Crypto Liquidations Nears $1 Billion in 24 Hours as US Strikes Iran Again

Crypto liquidations hit $934.24 million in 24 hours after the US carried out fresh strikes inside Iran. The flush wiped out roughly 167,400 trader accounts as leveraged longs collapsed.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) took the heaviest blows, with BTC liquidations at $363 million and ETH at $240 million. The single largest order, a $15.34 million BTC long, closed on Hyperliquid.

Crypto Liquidations Skew 93% to Longs

Most of the damage hit traders positioned for a recovery. CoinGlass figures show longs made up 93% of the total. Short sellers were largely spared.

The skew points to derivatives books that had absorbed the prior week’s ceasefire optimism. Traders had added leverage on the long side. Bitcoin’s recent leverage ratio decline had already flagged thin positioning.

Bitcoin sank below $73,000 during the rout. The drop extended a slide that began when President Donald Trump first questioned a deal earlier in the week.

Risk assets across stocks and oil moved sharply. Brent crude climbed as traders priced in supply concerns around the Strait of Hormuz. The flush cleared out long bets built during the prior ceasefire rally.

New US Strikes End Brief Ceasefire Hopes

The sell-off began after the US Central Command confirmed strikes against Iranian targets. Forces hit four one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz. A ground control station at Bandar Abbas was also destroyed.

The US said the targets posed a threat to American forces and to maritime traffic in the strait. Iranian state media reported no casualties from the action. Kuwait separately activated air defenses against incoming missiles and drones.

The escalation arrived only days after both sides hinted at a ceasefire framework. Trump confirmed during a Wednesday cabinet meeting that talks had stalled.

He said Tehran was “negotiating on fumes” and warned the US might “finish the job” if no agreement materialized. The blunt language reversed a market mood that had built on Trump’s earlier Iran pledge to wind the conflict down.

The next leg depends on whether Washington and Tehran return to the table. A second round of strikes inside three days has narrowed the runway for diplomacy.

Any disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would feed straight into oil and risk-off flows. The US has already widened pressure through its Operation Economic Fury crackdown targeting Iran’s digital asset network.

For crypto, the $1.7 billion liquidation cascade earlier this year showed how quickly leverage can rebuild. Traders will watch funding rates and open interest over the coming sessions.

The data will show whether sentiment is resetting or simply reloading the long side. With Bitcoin’s earlier Hormuz-driven price slide already on the books, another headline move would test the $70,000 floor.