Geopolitical shock hit crypto markets in the early hours of February 28, as reports of an Israeli military strike on Iran triggered an immediate risk-off response across digital assets, with more than $100 million in cryptocurrency long positions liquidated within fifteen minutes and Bitcoin sliding to $63,644 at the time of writing.
The Damage Across the Market
The selloff was broad and fast. Bitcoin fell 2.84% in the past hour alone, trading at $63,644 at the time of writing, continuing a decline that has now carried it well below the $65,000 support level that had held for much of the previous 48 hours.
Ethereum took a harder hit in percentage terms, dropping 3.01% in the same window to $1,857. Solana fell 2.45% to $78.78. XRP, already under pressure heading into the weekend, declined a further 2.29% to $1.31. Dogecoin and Cardano both dropped 2.38%, trading at $0.08987 and $0.2670 respectively. BNB shed 2.14% to $598.49.
The CoinMarketCap 20 Index, which tracks broad market exposure across the top assets, fell 2.34% in the hour to $131.80. The only assets in the top ten that held their ground were Tether and USDC, both holding at $1.00 as capital rotated toward stable assets during the shock.
TRON was the sole exception among non-stablecoins, declining just 0.14% to $0.2820, an outlier behavior consistent with its historically lower beta to broad market moves.
What Triggered It
Reports of an Israeli strike on Iran introduced sharp geopolitical uncertainty into a market that was already navigating a difficult macro backdrop. Bitcoin and risk assets tend to react immediately and aggressively to Middle East escalation events in the first minutes after news circulates, as leveraged positions get unwound before the situation is fully understood.
Latest visuals from Tehran after a preemptive strike by the US & Israel in a joint operation.#Iran #Israel #airstrike #Tehran #IranIsraelConflict pic.twitter.com/3J9xYMTRdm
— Masked Man (@MaskedMan1947) February 28, 2026
The $100 million in long liquidations within fifteen minutes reflects that dynamic precisely. Forced selling accelerates price declines, which triggers further liquidations, which pushes price lower still. The speed of the move from $65,500 to below $64,000 over a short window is consistent with a liquidation cascade rather than sustained directional selling.
