Bitcoin and ether declined sharply after geopolitical tensions escalated, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning Iran that the “clock is ticking,” triggering a surge in oil prices and a wave of liquidations across crypto markets.
Bitcoin (BTC) came under pressure at the start of CME futures trading late Sunday (23:00 UTC), dropping roughly 2.4% to around $76,500 — its lowest level since April 30. The move followed Trump’s social media post cautioning Iran to act quickly or face severe consequences, rattling broader risk sentiment.
Brent crude briefly climbed above $112 per barrel in response, while risk assets, including cryptocurrencies and U.S. equities, moved lower. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.3% and 0.25%, respectively.
Ether (ETH) underperformed bitcoin, falling about 3.5% to trade near $2,116, effectively wiping out gains made during April’s rally as liquidations accelerated.
Derivatives data pointed to aggressive deleveraging. Total futures trading volume surged 65% to $159 billion over 24 hours, while open interest dipped 1.48% to $125 billion. Liquidations spiked 500% to $677 million, suggesting positions were being forcefully unwound rather than new directional bets being established.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) stood out with a 13% jump in open interest to 1.47 million coins — the highest since early April — even as funding rates plunged to an annualized minus 72%, the most negative among major tokens. Combined with sharply negative cumulative volume delta (CVD), the data संकेत a heavily crowded short trade that could unwind rapidly if sentiment reverses.
In contrast, Zcash (ZEC) showed continued strength. Open interest rose for a third consecutive day, surpassing 2 million tokens, while CVD remained firmly positive, driven by aggressive market buying. Funding rates hovered at a modest 4%, indicating positioning is not overheated. Despite a recent pullback, ZEC remains up 111% this quarter, with momentum suggesting further upside if market conditions stabilize.
Other tokens seeing notable increases in open interest included HYPE, CRO, and TON, while BTC and ETH positioning remained relatively stable.
Across the broader market, selling pressure dominated. Excluding a few outliers such as ZEC, TON, and HYPE, all top 25 cryptocurrencies recorded negative 24-hour CVDs, confirming that declines were driven by active selling rather than passive distribution.
Volatility metrics also edged higher. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) climbed to 42% from 40% earlier in May, continuing its inverse correlation with spot prices. Meanwhile, the MOVE index — a key gauge of U.S. Treasury volatility — surged 14% on Friday, marking its largest single-day increase since late March and signaling rising global financial stress.
Options markets reflected expectations of larger price swings ahead. On Deribit, block trades were skewed toward BTC straddles, indicating traders are positioning for a significant move in either direction, viewing current implied volatility as relatively cheap.
Altcoins lagged behind major cryptocurrencies, with assets such as BCH and Dogecoin (DOGE) dropping 10% and 4.5%, respectively, since the start of Monday trading. Dogecoin’s decline weighed heavily on the CoinDesk Memecoin Select Index, which fell 2.2%, making it the weakest-performing benchmark.
Other indices also posted losses, with the DeFi Select Index (DFX) down 1.1% and the broader CoinDesk 20 Index slipping 0.6%.
Despite the broader downturn, a handful of tokens posted gains. Thorchain (RUNE) rose 3.8% as it recovered from last week’s exploit, while layer-1 token KAIA extended its rally, gaining 1.6% on the day and 3.5% over 24 hours. Trading activity in KAIA surged, with daily volume nearly tripling to $53 million.
