Altcoins Plunge, Crypto Liquidations Hit $1B Amid Israel-Iran Tensions

Crypto prices have plunged in the wake of Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, with major altcoins taking significant hits and liquidations passing $1 billion, as markets braced themselves for Iran’s response.

Ethereum has tanked 7.8% over the past 24 hours to $2,533, according to CoinGecko, while XRP dropped 3.9% to $2.13 and Solana 8.4% to $145. The best-performing assets in the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are both stablecoins holding their peg to the U.S. dollar—never a good sign.

As a result, according to CoinGlass, $1.16 billion worth of liquidations have swept the crypto market. Leading the way is Bitcoin with $449.95 million of liquidations, followed by Ethereum at $301.92 million, and Solana at $53.46 million. The vast majority of these liquidations were long positions.

Predictors on Myriad shifted their stance on more long Bitcoin positions being liquidated on Saturday, June 14 to over 55.8%—a notable move from the near 50% odds that predictors gave the market on Thursday afternoon.

(Disclosure: Myriad Markets was created by DASTAN, the parent company of Decrypt and Rug Radio.)

Israel’s airstrike on Iran

Israel launched a large-scale airstrike against Iran in the early hours of Friday, with government officials claiming the country was targeting nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and military commanders. Iranian state media outlets have reported several casualties, including civilians and senior officials. 

“The Zionist regime will regret its action today,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian tweeted, announcing a “special meeting” set to take place on how to respond. Meanwhile, Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of possible missile and drone attacks in response from Iran.

The crisis could also impact on the chances of a nuclear deal being struck between Iran and the United States, with predictors on Myriad now giving odds of just 4.7% for a positive outcome in the talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio quickly confirmed after the Israeli strikes that the U.S. was “not involved,” urging Iran not to attack U.S. personnel.

The price of Bitcoin has also declined, though not as sharply as altcoins, falling 2.2% on the day to $104,976.