"Long-Position Investors on Alert"...Cryptocurrency, $150 Million Liquidated on Trump's Iran Warning

▲ Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Forced Liquidation/ChatGPT Generated Image

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's warning regarding Iran, the cryptocurrency market, along with the stock market, wavered. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) failed to find a clear direction, while XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) showed weakness. Amid rising geopolitical tensions, investors' risk aversion sentiment pressured the overall market.

According to Benzinga on May 19 (local time), major cryptocurrencies continued their bearish trend on Tuesday. President Trump stated that the U.S. would wait for "a limited period" if an agreement with Iran was not reached quickly. These remarks fueled concerns that military tensions related to Iran could escalate again.

Bitcoin moved between $76,000 and $77,000, and its 24-hour trading volume significantly decreased. Ethereum fell below $2,100 early in the session before partially recovering by evening. XRP and Dogecoin showed a decline. Solana (SOL) also could not escape the bearish trend.

Massive liquidations occurred in the derivatives market. According to Coinglass data, over $150 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, with long position liquidations alone amounting to $104 million. Bitcoin's open interest decreased by approximately 1% during the same period. Many individual investors and whale derivatives traders on Binance reportedly maintained Bitcoin long positions.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap also contracted. The global cryptocurrency market cap decreased by 0.30% in the past 24 hours, recording $2.55 trillion. Cryptocurrency-related stocks also could not avoid weakness. Strategy closed down 1.20%, and Bitmine Immersion Technologies fell 0.53%.

U.S. stocks also fell in unison. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 322.24 points, or 0.65%, at 49,363.88. The S&P 500 index closed down 0.67% at 7,353.61, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.84% to 25,870.71. President Trump told reporters at the White House that he was "an hour away" from ordering an attack on Iran, adding that the U.S. would only wait for a limited period if an agreement was not reached sooner.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez analyzed that based on the Market Value to Realized Value price bands, Bitcoin has the potential to rebound towards $94,850 as long as it holds above $72,960. He noted that if this price level is lost, Bitcoin risks a deeper correction towards its realized price near $54,270. Crypto commentator Michaël van de Poppe stated that Bitcoin "doesn't look good" and needs to break above $79,100 to regain market momentum. He predicted that if it fails to hold that range, it is highly likely to sequentially break recent rally lows and test support below $65,000.

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