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Cryptocurrency market liquidations reached $ 100 million in just 15 minutes
The morning of February 28, 2026, became a turning point for the cryptocurrency market: after the announcement of a large-scale military operation against Iran, the prices of digital assets instantly collapsed. In just the first 15 minutes after the attack began, positions worth more than $ 100 million, mostly long contracts, were liquidated.
Bitcoin BTC $65,922.57 Mezo Wrapped BTC 0.16% Market capitalization $36.19 million VOL. 24 hours $1.48 billion dropped to $ 63,463, losing 6.59% overnight. Ethereum ETH $1,958.98 Bridged Ether (StarkGate) -1.15% Market capitalization $45.38 million VOL. 24 hours $0.92 billion dropped by almost 9%, and the largest losses were recorded in Solana SOL $83.85 Binance-Peg SOL -1.33% Market capitalization $92.33 million VOL. 24 hours $0.31 billion (-10.84%) and Cardano ADA $0.27 Binance-Peg Cardano -2.26% Market capitalization $0.12 billion VOL. 24 hours $35.13 million (-10.65%). According to CoinGlass, the total volume of liquidations on futures exceeded $ 517 million, affecting more than 152,000 traders.
The largest losses were incurred in operations with Bitcoin and Ethereum, with the bulk of liquidations being in long positions. The Fear and Greed Index dropped by two points, signaling the dominance of pessimism and investors' propensity to sell.
February’s collapse was the deepest in recent months: bitcoin lost 28% of its value, Ethereum — more than 37%, Solana — almost 37%, BNB BNB $620.48 BNB -0.05% Market capitalization $84.61 billion VOL. 24 hours $90.02 million - 34%, and XRP — more than 31%. This confirms the high sensitivity of the crypto market to geopolitical risks.
The reason for the fall was the escalation in the Middle East: after the failure of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, US President Donald Trump announced the start of an operation, and US and Israeli forces launched a series of air strikes on Iranian targets. Geopolitical tensions instantly transformed into a financial crisis for cryptocurrency investors.