Bitcoin Slumps Below $73K as US-Iran Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz Trigger Crypto Liquidations
US CENTCOM-linked strikes on Iranian missile and naval targets near the Strait of Hormuz have reignited geopolitical risk and hit crypto sentiment.
Bitcoin fell below $73,000, with the market losing roughly $80B in value. The selloff also sparked up to $1B in leveraged liquidations within 24 hours, as crowded longs were forced out and selling cascaded.
The Pentagon described the operation as self-defense against Iranian drone and missile activity threatening US forces and shipping lanes. Iran condemned the strikes as breaches of the fragile ceasefire agreed in early April.
Broad risk-off trading followed. Ethereum, Solana, and XRP each dropped about 2%–4%. At the same time, energy markets moved higher: oil surged on fears of further disruptions to the shipping route that carries around a fifth of global petroleum flow. This diverges from the “Bitcoin as inflation hedge/digital gold” narrative, since higher conflict-driven energy costs can coincide with crypto weakness.
What traders should watch next: whether the Strait of Hormuz risk premium keeps rising, and whether additional US-Iran escalation triggers more liquidation waves in high-leverage derivatives. The longer escalation timeline noted in the reports (including events since Feb. 28, 2026) suggests the ceasefire backdrop remains unstable, and Bitcoin’s $73,000 zone may stay vulnerable if diplomacy fails.
Bearish
This news is likely bearish for Bitcoin in the near term because the Strait of Hormuz escalation directly increases risk premiums and triggers forced selling via leveraged liquidation. The later article adds a more explicit scale ($80B market loss and up to ~$1B liquidations in 24 hours) and reiterates that the ceasefire is fragile, which raises the probability of further downside if oil disruption fears persist.
In the short run, traders may keep reducing exposure to BTC as geopolitical uncertainty lifts energy prices and undermines the “BTC as inflation hedge” narrative. In the medium to longer run, any durable de-escalation framework from Doha could support a relief bounce, but until the Strait of Hormuz risk premium cools and liquidation pressure fades, Bitcoin’s $73,000 area remains vulnerable—so the balance of probabilities still leans bearish.