Bitcoin Plunges Near $63K as US-Israel Strikes on Iran Spark Massive Crypto Liquidations
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Highlights:
- Bitcoin plunged near $63,000 after US-Israel strikes escalated Middle East tensions.
- Geopolitical fears sparked massive crypto liquidations totaling $687.87 million in 24 hours.
- Investors fled volatile assets like crypto toward safe havens, gold and bonds, amid a risk-off mood.
On Saturday, Bitcoin’s price dropped sharply and moved close to the $63,000 level. Rising tensions in the Middle East unsettled global markets and increased investor fear. The decline came after the United States and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes against Iran. This action led to a quick sell-off in risk assets, especially cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded around $63,642, fell 6.29% in the past 24 hours. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization declined by 6.06%, falling to $2.2 trillion.
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Geopolitical Risks Push Investors Away from Crypto
Israeli defense officials confirmed that several targets in Tehran and nearby areas were hit. State media reported explosions near important military and political sites, which shows a serious rise in the conflict. Israeli officials declared a nationwide state of emergency. Senior security sources said the operation involved coordinated Israeli and U.S. military efforts. The strikes came after diplomatic talks failed and tensions grew over Iran’s nuclear program and regional proxy networks.
🚨JUST IN: Israel confirms the strike on Iran was coordinated with the United States.
An Israeli defense official says the operation was planned for months and the launch date was decided weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/Kzo3odKlFh
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) February 28, 2026
Regarding the outcome of U.S.–Iran talks, Donald Trump said the United States was not satisfied with the negotiations. He said that Iran should not continue its enrichment of uranium and that Iran did not give the right response. In response to rising tensions, several countries, including France, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Belgium, Poland, and Greece, advised their citizens to avoid travel to the Middle East, including Israel and Iran.
The geopolitical tension provided a clean risk-off environment. Investors abandoned volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies. They opted to invest in safer assets such as gold and government bonds. This pattern often appears when markets face major global or political shocks.
Crypto Market Faces Massive Liquidations After Geopolitical News
In the hours after the news, data from Coinglass showed heavy liquidations across the market. Traders acted quickly after the headlines, liquidating about $100 million in long positions on major exchanges within 15 minutes. About $515.63 million in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. This included $443.24 million in longs and $72.36 million in shorts, affecting 153,008 traders.
🚨BREAKING: Over $100 MILLION in crypto longs liquidated in just 15 minutes after Israel launched a “preventative” strike on Iran.
Explosions reported in Tehran, triggering a sharp risk-off move across crypto markets. 📉 pic.twitter.com/SStwucynHK
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) February 28, 2026
Most liquidations occurred on ByBit and Binance, with $114.85 million and $108.17 million wiped out, respectively. Bitcoin saw $199.12 million in liquidations, with $175.17 million from longs and $23.95 million from shorts. Ethereum liquidations totaled $153.32 million, including $137.48 million in longs and $15.84 million in shorts. In total, 103,284 traders worldwide were liquidated during the same period.
Analysts are also monitoring Bitcoin’s important levels of support and resistance and have identified $60,000 as an important psychological level. Breaking below this region could result in further corrections. However, a reduction in geopolitical tensions or a stable global risk market could assist Bitcoin in staging a recovery and breaking above $65,000. In the long run, the future of Bitcoin will depend on the developments in the Middle East tensions, overall macroeconomic conditions, and institutional investment inflows into digital assets.
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