Headlines of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz set off a broad crypto market selloff on Wednesday. Bitcoin slipped below $73,000, and Ethereum lost the $2,000 level, with both posting sharp losses over 24 hours.
The total crypto market cap fell about 3.3%, wiping out roughly $80 billion, while leveraged traders took the brunt as nearly $1 billion in positions were liquidated, mostly from longs forced out as prices dropped. The sharper takeaway is not just that geopolitics hit sentiment, but how fast the move turned mechanical: major tokens broke key levels, long positions were flushed out, and the selloff accelerated across the market.