Crypto Market Plummets 5% Amid Geopolitical Tensions, $1.15 Billion Liquidated

The crypto market experienced a significant downturn following an unexpected airstrike by Israel on Iran, which sent shockwaves through global markets and dragged digital assets down with it. Within a short span of hours, over $1.15 billion in crypto liquidations were recorded across major exchanges. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, dipped below $104K, but the impact was not limited to Bitcoin alone. Altcoins were hit just as hard, if not harder, as the geopolitical turmoil quickly escalated into a full-blown market rout.

Solana (SOL) was one of the most severely affected by this crash, with its price dropping over 9% to $144.47. This steep fall resulted in the liquidation of $52.56 million in open positions, with $46.14 million of those being long trades. The market cap of Solana stood at $75.97 billion, and the 24-hour trading volume spiked to $5.71 billion, indicating the intensity of the exit. What began as a sharp dip quickly turned into a full liquidation cascade, particularly for high-leverage plays.

Dogecoin (DOGE), despite its meme status, was not spared from the market turmoil. The memecoin dropped 9.20% to $0.1733, with around $26.14 million in liquidations within 24 hours. Longs again took the major hit at $24.44 million. Dogecoin had seen a recent mini revival, but the crash quickly reversed its gains. The market cap currently stands at $25.94 billion, and the 24-hour trading volume jumped to $1.87 billion as traders rushed to cut losses.

Sui (SUI) experienced one of the sharpest percentage drops, falling nearly 11% to $3. Over $13.4 million worth of positions were liquidated in the crash, with $12.6 million of them being longs. Sui had been on a bit of a run before the crash, but its thin order books made it particularly vulnerable. Its market cap dropped to $10.19 billion, and trading volume jumped 79% to $1.66 billion as traders scrambled to escape collapsing setups.

Litecoin (LTC), which usually remains stable during big market moves, also got dragged into the storm. It dropped 7% to $83.48, with $4.13 million in liquidations. Most of it, $4.04 million, came from long positions. Litecoin had been fairly stable over the last few weeks, but once the broader market turned red, it followed suit. Volume increased by 14.07% to $522.97 million, and the market cap values at $6.34 billion as LTC holders moved quickly to reduce exposure.

Pi Network (PI), which is not usually in the spotlight, also got hammered. The token saw a brutal 13.82% drop, now priced at $0.5455. It saw a massive surge in activity, with 24-hour volume spiking by over 250%, reaching $213.35 million. That kind of volume spike, paired with a double-digit price drop, signals nothing but panic. The 24-hour trading volume currently stands at $212 million, pumping 258%, and the market cap dropped to $4.06 billion as traders dumped positions in fear of deeper losses.

This crypto market crash was not triggered by technical issues, ETFs, or central bank comments. It was a result of geopolitical tensions, with real-world conflict spilling into digital asset prices. After the strike, oil prices started climbing, gold spiked, and risk assets tanked. This adds another layer of risk for crypto: macro uncertainty, rising inflation, and less room for the Fed to ease.

More than 247,000 traders were liquidated in this crash. The single biggest liquidation happened on Binance: a BTCUSDT position worth over $201 million. Long traders across the board got wiped out. The total crypto market cap is now down nearly 5% in a single day, sitting at $3.23 trillion. This is what a real crypto market crash looks like: fast, unexpected, and brutal. No warning. No time to react. Just fear, volume spikes, and liquidation charts lighting up like Christmas.