On Monday afternoon, an intense wave of liquidations swept across crypto and commodities markets, resulting in the closure of positions worth more than $400 million within just four hours. The sudden market disruption followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Truth Social that planned military strikes on Iran would be postponed for five days, as well as his comments describing recent US-Iran discussions as “quite good and productive.”
Market Volatility Peaks Before Tensions Ease
Trump’s breaking news immediately propelled Bitcoin from $67,500 to above $71,200 in a rapid surge. However, the rally quickly lost momentum when Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported—citing an anonymous source—that there had been no direct or indirect contact with Trump and claimed the US President had backed down only after being told that “all energy plants in West Asia would be in the crosshairs.” The resulting confusion sparked a sharp $1,200 pullback in Bitcoin prices.
According to data from CoinGlass, this turbulent four-hour period triggered $415 million in total liquidations. Short positions accounted for $280 million of that sum, while long positions made up $135 million. The nearly 2-to-1 split reflected how traders were heavily positioning around the evolving tension, bracing for sudden swings in either direction.
Chain-Reaction Liquidations Shake Markets
Of the total liquidations, Bitcoin trades suffered $140 million in losses, while Ether contributed another $120 million. On the Hyperliquid platform, Brent oil futures alone saw $64 million in liquidated positions. Tokenized gold and silver also faced sharp losses, registering around $21 million and $20 million respectively.
Remarkably, the oil market liquidations were almost entirely one-sided. Most of the $64.4 million in collateral wiped out on Hyperliquid’s BRENTOIL contract came from traders who had gone long on oil, betting on Trump’s aggressive 48-hour ultimatum leading to strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure. Those who held their positions, despite accurately forecasting the conflict’s trajectory, suffered substantial losses as incoming news abruptly shifted market expectations.
During Asia trading hours, Bitcoin fluctuated between $67,500 and $68,500, but Trump’s post sent prices soaring $3,700 in under an hour. That momentum was soon reversed by Iran’s denial, which led to a swift $1,200 drop. By the evening, Bitcoin stabilized around $70,000, maintaining a 2.3 percent gain for the day.
Data from Binance shows that when futures trading volume jumps to five times the spot volume, headline-driven reactions sharply increase the risk of two-way liquidation waves. An initial surge forces shorts to close their positions, often swiftly followed by opposite news that catches longs off-guard, leading to their liquidation as well.
In the end, net price volatility remained relatively limited, but those using high leverage suffered the most significant losses. Each successive jolt in market expectations delivered fresh pain to risk-taking traders, highlighting the cascading consequences of geopolitical news in leveraged markets.
Trump’s social media comments set off a chain of forced liquidations across multiple markets, underscoring the fragile state of sentiment when leverage is elevated in both crypto and commodity trading, according to market analysts.
