Bitcoin (BTC) erased a week of gains in a single weekend session, sliding to $68,241 after President Trump threatened to strike Iran's power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz reopened within 48 hours.
The move hit a heavily bullish derivatives market, triggering $299 million in liquidations across 84,239 traders in 24 hours.
Trump posted on Truth Social at 23:44 GMT Saturday: "If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS… the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST."
Iran's military responded by threatening to target all U.S. energy infrastructure in the region if its own facilities were struck.
$299M in Liquidations, Longs Take 85% of the Hit
CoinGlass data shows long positions absorbed $254 million of the total - roughly 85% - reflecting how one-sided the market had become after eight consecutive days of gains.
Bitcoin longs accounted for $122 million of the damage. Ether longs lost $95.7 million. The largest single liquidation was a $10 million BTC-USDT swap on OKX.
The previous week's rally to $75,912 appears to have been built on ceasefire expectations that reversed within 24 hours.
On Friday, Trump said the U.S. was "considering winding down" military operations; by Saturday night he was threatening civilian energy infrastructure.
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Altcoins and the Hormuz Context
Major tokens fell across the board.
Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.8% to $2,114, Ripple (XRP) lost 2.5% to $1.41, Solana (SOL) slid 2.1% to $88.55, BNB fell 1.4% to $633, and dogecoin lost 2.7% to $0.092. Only Ether (+0.8%) and Solana (+0.7%) held green on the seven-day chart.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20% of the world's oil and gas flows in peacetime. Shipping through the waterway has effectively halted since the conflict began, with Brent crude closing at $112.19 on Friday. Strikes on power infrastructure would be the first direct targeting of civilian energy systems in the conflict.
The Fed held rates Wednesday with a dovish lean - a development that would normally support risk assets. It has not been enough to offset the weight of an open-ended geopolitical deadline.
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