MicroStrategy Sale, U.S.-Iran Tensions Trigger $1.64B Liquidations

MicroStrategy disclosed the sale of 32 BTC, its first Bitcoin sale in 41 months, as rising tensions between the United States and Iran coincided with a cascade of forced liquidations that hit crypto markets. Over a 24-hour span the total crypto market capitalization declined to about $2.26 trillion and Bitcoin slid below $66,000.

Markets lost roughly $18.56 billion in a single session following a 6.64% drop the previous day. The period saw $1.64 billion in liquidations, of which about $1.47 billion were long positions. Bitcoin accounted for the largest share of liquidations, at about $744.76 million.

Bitcoin traded near $65,966 after reaching a local high of $74,146 on May 31, a correction of about 11.16%. Trading volume increased during the decline, and the most recent daily candle lacked a long lower wick, indicating limited buyer activity at lower prices.

The MicroStrategy disclosure coincided with an 8.58% intraday decline in Bitcoin and a 9.95% drop in MicroStrategy’s stock price. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas cautioned that Bitcoin “leans too heavily on ETFs and MicroStrategy.”

The market cap sat just above technical support at $2.23 trillion. Market participants noted that if that level holds a rebound toward $2.33 trillion is possible; a failure to hold $2.23 trillion would leave limited visible support below.

Altcoins also moved sharply. Worldcoin fell about 14% over 24 hours to a low near $0.375 and then produced a green daily candle to roughly $0.388. Technical indicators show the 20-day exponential moving average closing in on the 100-day average near $0.329; a crossover would place the 0.236 Fibonacci level at $0.441 as a nearer upside target. Daily support for Worldcoin sits near $0.375, with longer-term moving averages around $0.329 and $0.300.

Cardano’s token ADA declined about 6.5% to near $0.215 after founder Charles Hoskinson criticized the network’s governance following the shutdowns of analytics platform TapTools and the meme project Hosky. Separately, Tether-backed agricultural company Adecoagro plans to begin sugarcane-powered Bitcoin mining in Brazil around July 1.

On the technical side for Bitcoin, traders are watching for a daily close above $66,908 and then $70,305, the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level, as indicators of renewed upside. If those levels are not reclaimed, nearer supports are $65,032 and $62,581. Market participants attributed the cascade largely to leveraged positions forced to unwind as prices fell, creating a feedback loop of liquidations driven by the corporate sale and heightened geopolitical risk.