The cryptocurrency market shed approximately $70 billion in total capitalization in a single hour Saturday morning as news of US and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities spread across trading desks.
Total market cap fell from roughly $2.24 trillion to $2.17 trillion between 7 and 8 a.m. UTC, per TradingView data - one of the sharpest single-hour contractions of 2026.
With equity markets closed and bond markets off, cryptocurrency absorbed the full initial force of the geopolitical shock.
The drawdown extended well beyond Bitcoin (BTC). Ethereum (ETH) dropped approximately 9% to around $1,850, while Solana (SOL) fell roughly 10% and XRP shed nearly 9%.
Bitcoin slid to near $63,000 - a decline of about 6.5% on the day - before partially recovering. Derivatives markets amplified the move sharply.
Liquidations and Leverage
Within minutes of the first headlines, $100 million in long positions were wiped out across major exchanges, according to CoinGlass data.
Over 24 hours, total long liquidations climbed to approximately $445 million.
Bitcoin futures liquidations alone accounted for around $192 million, with open interest across BTC contracts sitting near $43.4 billion - indicating significant leveraged exposure that accelerated the sell-off beyond what spot activity alone would explain.
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Tokenized Gold as Safe Haven
While crypto broadly sold off, tokenized gold products diverged. Tether Gold and PAX Gold each gained more than 3% during the same window, tracking a roughly 2% rise in spot gold prices to approximately $5,278 per ounce.
The contrast in performance suggests at least some capital rotated within crypto portfolios toward commodity-backed instruments rather than exiting the asset class entirely.
The episode has a direct precedent. When Iran launched missile strikes on Israel in April 2024, Bitcoin also fell sharply - briefly touching around $61,000 before recovering to new all-time highs in subsequent months.
Whether that historical pattern repeats depends on how the conflict escalates: Iran's officials said Saturday that Tehran was preparing a response, and further military exchanges could extend the risk-off environment into next week's traditional market open.
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