Trump Iran Warning Sparks $657.9M Crypto Liquidations

A 24-hour crypto sell-off tied to geopolitical risk erased $657.9 million in leveraged positions as traders reduced exposure after President Trump signaled possible strikes on Iran and scheduled a Situation Room meeting to review options.

Data from Coinglass show roughly 106,371 accounts were liquidated over the period. Long positions accounted for about 89% of the total losses, with $584.38 million wiped out. Short positions absorbed $73.52 million.

Ethereum saw the largest single-asset losses, with $256.83 million in long positions liquidated. Bitcoin followed with $180.89 million in liquidations. Together the two assets made up about two-thirds of the total. The largest single liquidation recorded was an ETH/USDT perpetual contract on Bitget valued at $28.49 million.

Traders reduced leveraged exposure as headlines raised concerns about potential military action, triggering rapid price moves that produced margin calls and automatic liquidations on derivatives platforms.

Crypto market capitalization fell about 0.93% over the 24 hours to roughly $2.65 trillion. Bitcoin slipped below $77,000, extending weekly losses to 5.59%. Ethereum traded under $2,120 and was down 9.98% on the week. Solana declined 11.22% over seven days to $84.94.

Liquidations occur when price moves push leveraged positions below required maintenance margins and platforms close those positions to limit losses. Large, concentrated long exposure in ETH and BTC translated price weakness into higher liquidation volumes for leveraged long traders.

Exchanges publish liquidation totals in near real time, allowing market participants to track forced closures as prices respond to headline-driven events. Further escalation in the region could prompt additional volatility and more margin events.