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Traders get crushed as a Trump social media post triggers a massive $415 million crypto whipsaw

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Crypto liquidation. (CoinGlass/CoinDesk)

Crypto market traders were whipsawed on both sides on Monday afternoon, with over $400 million in liquidations across long and short positions in the past 4 hours.

Bitcoin spiked from $67,500 to above $71,200 on Monday afternoon after U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had instructed the Pentagon to postpone all strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, saying the U.S. and Iran had “very good and productive conversations.”

Then Iran reportedly denied everything.

“There is no direct or indirect communication with Trump,” Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing an anonymous source, adding that Trump “retreated after hearing that our targets would be all power plants in West Asia.” Bitcoin gave back roughly $1,200 from its high within minutes.

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CoinGlass data shows $415 million in liquidations in the four-hour window around the two headlines, with short liquidations accounting for $280 million and longs taking $135 million. The nearly 2-to-1 ratio suggests the market was heavily positioned for escalation when Trump’s post landed.

Of the total liquidations, bitcoin accounted for $140 million, ether at $120 million, and Brent oil futures on Hyperliquid at $64 million. Tokenized gold lost $20.9 million, while tokenized silver losses stood at $19.8 million

Crypto liquidation. (CoinGlass/CoinDesk)
Crypto liquidation. (CoinGlass/CoinDesk)

Meanwhile, the oil liquidations were almost entirely one-sided.

The XYZ:BRENTOIL contract on Hyperliquid saw $64.4 million wiped, with the vast majority hitting longs who had been positioning for Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to trigger an attack on Iran’s power plants rather than a postponement. Those traders were right about the direction of the war but wrong about the direction of the next Truth Social post.

Bitcoin spent the Asia session grinding between $67,500 and $68,500, ripped $3,700 higher in an hour on the Trump post, then faded $1,200 as Iran’s denial hit.

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As of Monday evening, it was holding $70,000, up 2.3% on the day, sitting in the middle of a range it carved out in a few hours of headline-driven volatility.

The session reinforced what the Binance futures-to-spot data flagged earlier this month. When derivatives dominate trading activity at 5x the volume of spot, every headline gets amplified through liquidation cascades in both directions. Shorts get squeezed on the de-escalation post, then longs get caught when the counter-headline arrives.

The net movement ends up modest, but the damage to leveraged traders is not.

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Crypto World

Bitcoin Spot Volumes Drop To 2023 Lows as Rallies Lack Spot Conviction

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Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin Futures, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis

Bitcoin (BTC) spot volumes on Binance have dropped to their lowest level since September 2023, indicating that the current intraday price rise may not be backed by strong demand.

The rally above $71,700 on Monday appears to be driven mainly by news headlines and liquidations in the Bitcoin futures markets.

Binance volumes and exchange flows signal the demand gap for BTC

Crypto analyst Darkfost said that March is on track to record the lowest Binance spot volume since Q3 2023, at roughly $52 billion, compared to the $88 billion recorded in September 2023. The activity levels align with the prior bear market conditions, pointing to the reduced participation.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin Futures, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis
BTC spot trading volume. Source: CryptoQuant

The exchange flow data shows a similar slowdown. Crypto analyst Arab Chain reported $6.38 billion in seven-day cumulative flows on Binance and $5.14 billion on Coinbase. The Binance flows have dropped to the lowest level since 2024, indicating reduced deposit activity.

However, the lower inflows may also coincide with a reduced supply to sell, as fewer coins move onto the exchanges. The Coinbase flows remain relatively stable, reflecting the steadier participation from the long-term investors.

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The large-holder activity added another layer. Market analyst Gaah identified a record surge in the whale inflow momentum, which tracks the rate of change in large transfers to the exchanges.

The current reading of 74.3 surpasses all prior cycle peaks over the past 11 years, with a higher level last recorded at 124.6 in 2015. 

The elevated inflow velocity signals an aggressive capital rotation and hedging, increasing BTC’s sensitivity to short-term volatility over the next few weeks.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin Futures, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis
Bitcoin momentum whale inflow ratio. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: Bitcoin rebounds to $71K as oil drops after Trump signals pause on Iran strikes

Bitcoin liquidation activity shows traders lack conviction

The BTC rally followed reports that President Trump had deferred the planned US strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days after citing progress in the diplomatic discussions, a claim later rejected by Iran’s foreign ministry, which denied that any talks had taken place.

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BTC still pushed to a weekly high of $71,789 on Binance during the US market session, driven by the above external catalyst rather than by spot demand or futures positioning, leading the move.

Data shows the rally coincided with a reduction in leverage. The aggregated open interest declined by about 9,700 BTC, marking a 4% drop over 13 hours.

The open interest tracks the total number of active futures contracts, and the decline during a price increase signals that the positions were being closed rather than new ones being opened.

BTC/USDT price, aggregated open interest, liquidation, and Coinbase premium. Source: velo.data

This type of move typically occurs when short positions are forced out of the market, reducing the total exposure while pushing the price higher. Binance recorded over $44 million in short liquidations within one hour, the largest since the one-hour long liquidations of $53 million on Feb. 6.

The Coinbase premium (in percentage terms) remained negative during the move, indicating limited spot demand from US participants.

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The falling open interest, high liquidations, and weak premiums suggest the move higher was driven by positions being closed rather than new money entering the market, with most of the activity clustered around the $71,000–$72,000 range.

Related: Gold slides as traders eye sub-$50K BTC: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week