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Crypto Crash: Geopolitical Tensions Send Bitcoin and Ethereum Plummeting

BBG News

In the wee hours of Friday the 13th, the cryptocurrency market found itself in a rather precarious position, as global risk assets took a tumble following a surprise military strike by Israel on Iran.

The geopolitical shockwave sent ripples through the digital currency world, with Ethereum (ETH) experiencing a sharp drop below the crucial $2,600 support level.

Geopolitical Shock

According to the latest analysis shared by CryptoQuant, this sudden plunge triggered a cascade of long liquidations on Binance, where data from liquidation heatmaps revealed concentrated wipeouts in the $2,650-$2,430 range.

Many traders had opened long positions at around $2,800, expecting continued upside, only to be caught off guard by the sell-off. As prices fell through key levels, stop-losses and liquidation orders were triggered en masse, which resulted in a rapid flush of overleveraged positions.

Bitcoin also felt the impact, as Binance’s funding rates for BTC perpetual contracts fell to deeply negative levels not seen since June 8. This drop in funding rates reflects a market-wide shift in sentiment, which means that traders are now heavily shorting BTC amid fears of continued downside.

The panic-driven trading behavior suggests extreme caution across crypto markets, and derivatives data are pointing to increased bearish expectations. However, the aggressive liquidation of ETH longs and the return of negative BTC funding rates may indicate an overly pessimistic market stance. Such conditions often precede a potential price rebound, as excessive leverage is cleared out and markets stabilize.

While uncertainty remains high due to the geopolitical backdrop, the removal of speculative build-up could create a healthier setup for recovery.

Flight to Safety Grips Markets

In a note released Friday, QCP Capital also echoed these concerns and stated that the digital asset complex remains tightly tethered to geopolitical tail risks, and markets now appear to be poised to trade “headline to headline.” Bitcoin fell around 3% while Ethereum posted a sharper 9% drop, as risk sentiment evaporated across Asia and safe-haven assets like oil and gold surged.

Interestingly, crypto volatility spiked, with front-end BTC risk reversals flipping decisively in favor of puts, which indicated a sharp rise in demand for downside protection. While over $1 billion in long liquidations rattled major crypto assets, Bitcoin’s relatively muted decline indicated underlying institutional support.

However, the firm warned that any escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict could threaten oil supply corridors and add to inflationary pressure, thereby complicating the Fed’s rate trajectory.

Exacerbating the uncertainty, a widespread internet outage involving Google Cloud and Cloudflare added further stress to equities and tech-linked crypto sentiment. With Tehran’s response pending, the outlook for crypto remains fragile, which is currently not shaped by fundamentals but by geopolitical volatility and macro headline flow.

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2025-06-13 22:58

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