Key facts
- The cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp selloff on Wednesday.
- Nearly $450 million in leveraged liquidations occurred across the crypto market.
- Bitcoin fell below $62,000, leading the market downturn.
- U.S. President Donald Trump declared the memorandum of understanding with Iran "over."
- Geopolitical risks, including U.S.-Iran tensions and new strikes, drove oil prices up and weighed on risk assets like crypto.
The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant selloff on Wednesday, with nearly $450 million in leveraged liquidations occurring across major digital assets. Bitcoin dropped below the $62,000 mark, leading the downturn. The market's decline was primarily attributed to escalating geopolitical tensions following U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is "over."
Data from CoinGlass indicated that over the past 24 hours, 145,221 traders were liquidated, totaling $449.63 million. The majority of these losses, $343.43 million, were on the long side, with $106.20 million on the short side. Binance recorded the largest single liquidation, a $7.24 million ETHUSDT position. Bitcoin saw $99.90 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum with $90.67 million. Solana experienced $24.19 million in liquidations, and XRP had over $9 million in liquidated positions.
Trump's comments, made at the NATO summit, suggested a breakdown in diplomatic efforts with Iran, stating, "To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore." He reiterated that Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons but expressed frustration with ongoing negotiations.
The market's negative sentiment was further fueled by recent escalations in the Middle East. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced retaliatory actions against U.S. strikes and sanctions, including attacks on Washington's military targets. These geopolitical risks contributed to rising oil prices and pressured risk assets like cryptocurrencies. In a related development, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly canceled his trip to Israel amid the heightened regional tensions.