Peace Talks Off, Leverage Off: $641M Gets Evicted From Crypto in 48 Hours 🪖

Crypto markets absorbed more than $641 million in leveraged liquidations across two trading sessions after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding collapsed, with President Donald Trump declaring the accord "over" and follow-up talks in Switzerland scrapped. The combined wave of forced unwinds struck Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Solana as geopolitical uncertainty replaced the brief relief sparked by the original agreement.

The first leg of the selloff came midweek when Trump told reporters at the NATO summit, "To me, I think it's over. I don't want t," cutting short remarks on the deal. Bitcoin dropped below $62,000, and CoinGlass data showed roughly $449.63 million in liquidations over 24 hours, hitting 145,221 traders. Long positions accounted for $343.43 million of the losses, with shorts making up the remaining $106.20 million. Binance recorded the single largest liquidation, a $7.24 million ETHUSDT position.

Bitcoin led the damage with $99.90 million wiped out, followed by Ethereum at $90.67 million. Other cryptocurrencies saw $60.83 million in collective liquidations, Solana lost $24.19 million, and XRP recorded more than $9 million in liquidated positions.

A second wave of forced selling followed within days after US-Iran talks scheduled for Friday, June 19, in Switzerland were postponed. US Vice President JD Vance canceled his trip, with the White House citing logistics that were "simple or predictable" to arrange. Swiss authorities later confirmed the delay but said preparations continue for future talks, which had been slated to discuss next steps following the original memorandum of understanding suspending hostilities and resuming diplomacy. Iran had grown hostile after continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to reports.

That round of liquidations added more than $192 million in losses, with longs again dominating at over $101 million. Ethereum suffered $43 million in liquidations, Bitcoin nearly $41 million, and XRP long traders lost more than $3 million. The geopolitical whiplash translated directly into market volatility, as leveraged positions built during the brief post-deal rally met a swift reversal.