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Bullish Crypto Bets Liquidated for $595M as U.S. Bombs Iran Nuclear Sites
A surprise U.S. airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities triggered a market-wide crypto crash, wiping out bullish positions across ETH, BTC and other majors.
Updated Jun 23, 2025, 4:59 a.m. Published Jun 22, 2025, 7:17 a.m.
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What to know:
- The U.S. military's airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sites led to a $595 million liquidation in crypto long positions.
- Former President Donald Trump announced the strikes, which targeted key uranium enrichment facilities, causing global market turmoil.
- Over 172,000 traders were liquidated, with Ether and Bitcoin traders experiencing the largest losses.
Crypto bulls were blindsided Friday after the U.S. military launched airstrikes on Iran’s key nuclear sites, triggering a sharp selloff and $595 million in long-position liquidations.
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The move, announced by former President Donald Trump, saw bombers hit Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — three of Iran’s main uranium enrichment facilities. The geopolitical jolt rattled global markets and sent crypto into a tailspin on Sunday.
In the past 24 hours, 172,853 traders were liquidated, with total losses hitting $681.8 million, meaning 87% of it was from longs. Ether traders took the biggest hit with $282 million in liquidations, followed by bitcoin tracked trades at $151 million.Futures tracking other majors, such as SOL, XRP, and DOGE also faced heavy losses, with at least over $22 million in losses.
Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open).
A cascade of liquidations often indicates market extremes, where a price reversal could be imminent as market sentiment overshoots in one direction.
Prices briefly plunged before stabilizing. Bitcoin held near $102,000, while Ethereum traded just above $2,280, both down intraday but avoiding freefall.
Bybit and Binance accounted for two-thirds of all liquidations. And with the U.S. threatening “far greater” strikes, traders are likely bracing for more volatility.
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