Bitcoin surrendered its recent gains over the weekend as escalating geopolitical tensions triggered a broad market pullback and forced liquidations across crypto derivatives.
BTC fell 2.2% over the past 24 hours to $69,192, extending its weekly decline to 3.1%. The drop came after U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran, demanding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz or warning of potential strikes on the country’s power infrastructure.
Trump stated that the U.S. would “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants—starting with the largest—if commercial shipping through the key passage is not restored.
The shift in tone marks a sharp escalation from Friday, when Trump had suggested a possible de-escalation of military activity. That sudden reversal rattled markets, which had spent the previous week building optimism around a cooling of tensions.
Derivatives data shows traders were heavily positioned for further upside heading into the weekend. According to CoinGlass, total liquidations reached $299 million in the past 24 hours across more than 84,000 traders, with long positions accounting for $254 million, or roughly 85% of the total.
Bitcoin longs alone saw $122 million wiped out, while ether longs lost $95.7 million. The largest single liquidation was a $10 million BTC-USDT position on OKX.
Altcoins moved lower across the board. Ether declined 1.8% to $2,114, XRP dropped 2.5% to $1.41, BNB fell 1.4% to $633, Solana slid 2.1% to $88.55, and Dogecoin lost 2.7% to $0.092. On a weekly basis, only ether and solana remained slightly positive, while most major tokens posted losses.
With the 48-hour deadline set to expire Monday evening, markets are bracing for further volatility. If Iran fails to comply, the situation could escalate to direct strikes on energy infrastructure—marking a significant intensification of the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz remains largely restricted to commercial traffic, with around 20% of global oil and gas flows still disrupted.
Last week’s rally, which pushed bitcoin to $75,912, now appears to have been driven by short-lived hopes of a ceasefire. Although the Federal Reserve struck a dovish tone in its latest decision, persistent geopolitical risks are keeping traders cautious and limiting conviction in directional bets.
