$1.8B in 60 minutes: How war headlines triggered historic leverage purge

As information of “Operation Epic Fury” broke and studies confirmed a U.S.-Israeli strike over Tehran on the twenty eighth of February, the crypto market reacted immediately.

Inside an hour, digital asset merchants turned the market right into a worry bubble. This wasn’t a gradual decline. Merchants rushed to promote, triggering panic at full velocity.

In keeping with CryptoQuant, sellers pushed practically $1.8 billion in quantity by the market in only one hour. However the true impression confirmed up within the derivatives market.

The Bitcoin Derivatives Stress Index dropped from 30% to 18%, exhibiting that bullish confidence collapsed quick.

Many leveraged merchants had been forced out, triggering what’s often called a leverage purge, a sequence response the place falling costs trigger extra liquidations and much more promoting.

Supply: CryptoQuant

So sure, costs fell. However danger was additionally flushed out of the system.

And regardless of rising geopolitical tensions, the crypto market has proven stunning power, suggesting the panic might have already performed its injury.

Crypto market didn’t blink

At press time, the Crypto Concern and Greed Index was standing at 14, which signaled “Excessive Concern.” However that is truly an enchancment from the twenty third of February, when it dropped to a really low stage of 5.

That day marked one of many sharpest collapses in market confidence in latest reminiscence.

The distinction now’s clear. Traders are nonetheless cautious, however the blind panic from final week has eased. This variation can also be seen within the numbers.

The full crypto market cap has climbed to $2.32 trillion, rising 3.39% in simply 24 hours. Bitcoin has moved again above $67,114, gaining 4.34%. Ethereum [ETH] has performed even higher, jumping 6.86% and buying and selling above $2,000 once more.

Neighborhood is assured about Bitcoin and altcoins

Remarking on Bitcoin’s power, a consumer on X put it finest when he said,

“Iran simply confirmed the world why Bitcoin is the toughest cash.”

He added, 

“It doesn’t repair struggle. However it does take away a key weapon: the power to lure individuals inside a damaged forex and a managed banking system.” 

Moreover, there have additionally been talks across the upcoming altcoin season. Remarking on the identical, one other X consumer mentioned, 

“I don’t suppose individuals perceive the magnitude of this setup… but. WW3 simply broke out and Alts did NOT go to Zero.”

This exhibits that the market is rotating, and individuals are prepared to maneuver their cash slowly into altcoins. He added, 

“Alts simply had first 2 month inexperienced MACD and bullish crossover in 4 years. It’ll all appear so apparent when it’s too late…”

Supply: X

Echoing comparable sentiments, one other consumer added, 

“Altcoin dominance can also be on the verge of breaking out of a wedge that has been forming for a number of years. Even when the market doesn’t seem like it but. Good instances forward.” 

Supply: X

Nevertheless, as per data from CoinMarketCap, we nonetheless stand within the Bitcoin season zone. 

Previous reactions to struggle

Previously, navy tensions involving Iran have usually caused short-term panic in Bitcoin, however the drops didn’t final lengthy. Wanting again, in April 2024, Bitcoin [BTC] fell 8% in a single day however recovered inside two days.

In October 2024, Bitcoin dropped 3%, but it surely recovered inside a single day. In June 2025, it fell 6% after which surged 62% to new highs. However February 2026 informed a special story.

This time, Bitcoin entered the strike already weakened. It had fallen 48% from its all-time excessive. The Weekly RSI hit its lowest stage ever, signaling that the market was deeply oversold.

The Concern & Greed Index stayed within the worry zone for 3 straight weeks, exhibiting that excessive worry had already taken management.

In the meantime, merchants had diminished Open Curiosity by 55%, and the market had flushed out leverage over the earlier 5 months. In easy phrases, most over-leveraged positions had already been cleared.

So when the brand new strike hit, the market merely didn’t have many weak arms left to shake out.

What’s extra?

Whereas gold and silver stayed barely optimistic and the S&P 500 struggled, Bitcoin held up higher than anticipated. This implies that many of the promoting stress might already be over.

This time, the shock didn’t break the market as a substitute, it may need confirmed the place the underside is.

This coincided with Iran’s digital asset exercise reaching round $7.78 billion in 2025, and information exhibiting that folks more and more moved crypto into private wallets in periods of unrest and forex weak point. 

Ergo, as international tensions proceed to rise, the market now waits to see what occurs subsequent for crypto.

Remaining Abstract

• Bitcoin entered the battle deeply oversold, that means a lot of the injury was seemingly priced in beforehand.
• Historic patterns present war-driven dips usually reverse shortly, however this cycle started from a structurally completely different base.