Bitcoin Whipsaws on Trump-Iran Headlines, Triggering $400M in Liquidations

Well, it hasn’t been the best time for either short or long traders, as pretty much everyone’s portfolios are getting equally wrecked

Starting off with Bitcoin’s (BTC) massive swings. We’re talking almost US$5,000 (AU$7,150) on March 23 after conflicting claims from Donald Trump and Iranian officials over possible military de-escalation, wiping out heavily leveraged positions across crypto and commodity-linked derivatives.

The move began after Trump said on Truth Social that he had told the Pentagon to delay planned strikes on Iranian power plants for five days following what he described as productive talks with an Iranian representative. 

Related: XRP Pulls Back 10% as Record Korean Exchange Withdrawals Signal Accumulation

Bitcoin, which had earlier traded near US$67,500 (AU$96,525) after touching a two-week low of US$67,371 (AU$96,341), quickly jumped above US$71,200 (AU$101,816).

That rally reversed after Iranian officials denied any negotiations, which rattled markets and pretty much everyone because no one has any idea what’s going on anymore. 

Senior figures in Tehran said there had been no direct or indirect contact with Trump, undercutting the idea of an immediate diplomatic breakthrough. 

Bitcoin then dropped about US$1,200 from its intraday peak and later settled near US$70,000 (AU$100,100), still up 2.3% on the day.

Leverage Magnified Reversal

CoinGlass data showed US$415 million (AU$593 million) in liquidations over four hours, with losses concentrated in short positions caught by the initial surge. Shorts accounted for US$280 million (AU$400 million), while longs lost US$135 million (AU$193 million) as prices pulled back after Iran’s response.

Bitcoin liquidations reached US$140 million (AU$200 million). Ethereum added US$120 million (AU$172 million). Brent crude oil futures on Hyperliquid contributed US$64 million (AU$92 million), while tokenised gold and silver together made up about US$41 million (AU$59 million). 

The largest single liquidation was a US$16.3 million (AU$23.3 million) Ethereum position on Bitget.

Markets were already tense before Trump’s post as Bitcoin had fallen below US$69,200 (AU$98,956), shortly after the Iran-Israel conflict entered its fourth week, with disruption in the Strait of Hormuz affecting about 20% of global oil and gas transit. 

Related: Ancient Bitcoin Whales Move Millions as Middle East Tensions Shake Markets

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