Key Takeaways
- BTC plummeted to $63,000 following coordinated U.S.-Israeli military strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
- The cryptocurrency rebounded sharply to $68,000 as traders bet the event could de-escalate regional tensions
- Approximately 157,000 positions were liquidated over 24 hours, totaling $657 million in wipeouts
- February proved disastrous for Bitcoin, marking the third-worst performance for the month in its history with a 15% decline
- Major altcoins including Ethereum and XRP followed Bitcoin’s recovery pattern, with ETH holding near $2,000 and XRP around $1.40
Bitcoin experienced a dramatic plunge to $63,000 on Saturday following military operations conducted jointly by the United States and Israel against Iran that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The cryptocurrency’s decline was both rapid and severe. In a matter of hours, thousands of dollars evaporated from Bitcoin’s value as market participants absorbed the geopolitical earthquake.
State-controlled Iranian media subsequently verified Khamenei’s death. Officials from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council reported that he was struck at his workplace.
President Donald Trump validated the reports via Truth Social, describing Khamenei as “one of the most evil people in history.”
Additional casualties from the strikes included the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Defense Council secretary.
Following official confirmation, Bitcoin initiated its recovery phase. By the early hours of Sunday, BTC had surged back to $68,200 on the Coinbase exchange.
This represented a remarkable $5,000 fluctuation in less than one day, translating to approximately $80 billion in market capitalization movement.
Mass Liquidations and Trading Response
Approximately 157,000 trading positions were forcibly closed during this turbulent 24-hour window, with aggregate liquidations hitting $657 million, distributed almost equally between leveraged long and short positions, per CoinGlass data.
Market analyst Ash Crypto observed that traders viewed Khamenei’s elimination as potentially signaling an end to escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities, fueling the subsequent price rebound.
Ethereum pushed back toward the $2,000 threshold, while XRP rebounded to approximately $1.40 as the wider cryptocurrency market mirrored Bitcoin’s trajectory.
Bitcoin’s resurgence returned prices to Friday’s levels, though the asset continues trading within a three-week consolidation zone.
Historical February Underperformance for Bitcoin
Notwithstanding the weekend’s price recovery, Bitcoin concluded February with a nearly 15% loss, ranking as the third-most devastating February in the cryptocurrency’s existence.
This marked just the fourth occurrence since 2013 that Bitcoin finished February with negative returns. The cryptocurrency’s most catastrophic February occurred in 2014, registering a 31% decline.
BTC is currently heading toward its weakest first-quarter performance since 2018, having surrendered approximately 23% of its value since the beginning of January.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have initiated retaliatory military actions targeting nations that house U.S. military installations, with at least one fatality confirmed from a strike targeting Israel.
According to Iranian constitutional procedures, an interim governing body consisting of the president, judiciary chairman, and a Guardian Council representative will oversee administration until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor.
Currently, BTC trades near $67,350, with petroleum and stock futures markets scheduled to commence trading later Sunday, which market observers suggest will provide critical indicators regarding the sustainability of crypto’s recovery momentum.
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