Bitcoin slides beneath $77K as Trump’s Iran warning rattles investor confidence

Bitcoin and ether dropped sharply as geopolitical tensions intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that the “clock is ticking,” a move that lifted oil prices and sparked widespread liquidations across crypto markets.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell at the start of CME futures trading late Sunday (23:00 UTC), declining about 2.4% to around $76,500 — its lowest level since April 30. The sell-off followed Trump’s social media comments urging Iran to act quickly or face severe consequences, unsettling global risk sentiment.

Brent crude briefly surged above $112 per barrel in response, while risk assets broadly moved lower. U.S. equity futures also slipped, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts falling 0.3% and 0.25%, respectively.

Ether (ETH) underperformed bitcoin, sliding roughly 3.5% to near $2,116, effectively erasing gains from April’s rally as liquidation pressure accelerated.

Derivatives data pointed to forced deleveraging across the market. Total futures trading volume surged 65% to $159 billion over 24 hours, while open interest declined 1.48% to $125 billion. Liquidations spiked 500% to $677 million, indicating positions were being unwound rather than new bets being placed.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) stood out, with open interest rising 13% 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. Alongside sharply negative cumulative volume delta (CVD), the data suggests a heavily crowded short trade that could unwind quickly if sentiment shifts.

In contrast, Zcash (ZEC) showed resilience. Open interest climbed for a third straight day, surpassing 2 million tokens, while CVD remained strongly positive, driven by aggressive buying. Funding rates hovered around 4%, indicating positioning remains relatively healthy. Despite a recent pullback, ZEC is still up 111% this quarter, with further upside possible if broader conditions stabilize.

Elsewhere, tokens such as HYPE, CRO, and TON also recorded gains in open interest, while BTC and ETH positioning remained largely stable over the past 24 hours.

Across the broader market, selling pressure dominated. Excluding ZEC, TON, and HYPE, all other top 25 cryptocurrencies posted negative 24-hour CVDs, confirming that the decline was driven by aggressive selling rather than passive flows.

Volatility indicators also moved higher. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index rose to 42% from 40% earlier in May, maintaining its inverse relationship with spot prices. Meanwhile, the MOVE index — a key gauge of U.S. Treasury volatility — jumped 14% on Friday, marking its largest single-day rise since late March and signaling increased global financial stress.

Options markets suggest traders are positioning for larger moves ahead. On Deribit, block trades showed a bias toward BTC straddles, reflecting expectations of significant price swings in either direction and a view that current implied volatility may be underpriced.

Altcoins underperformed major cryptocurrencies, with assets such as BCH and Dogecoin dropping 10% and 4.5%, respectively, since the start of Monday trading. Weakness in memecoins weighed on broader benchmarks, with related indices posting the steepest losses.

Other crypto indices also declined, including DeFi and large-cap benchmarks, reflecting the broader risk-off tone.

Despite the downturn, a few tokens managed to post 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 the past 24 hours. Trading activity in KAIA surged, with daily volume nearly tripling to $53 million.