Bitcoin Crashes Below $80,000 as Iran War Fears Trigger $838 Million in Crypto Liquidations

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Saturday, October 24, hitting its weakest level in more than a month and sparking a broad crypto selloff tied directly to escalating fears of a U.S. military confrontation with Iran. The drop accelerated sharply around 11:05 a.m. ET, when Bitcoin touched $79,900 on Binance Spot, down from $80,296 just 15 minutes earlier, and later slid further to $79,302. By 11:19 a.m. ET, Ethereum had fallen below $2,300 to $2,298, down more than 4% over 24 hours.

The catalyst was a reported intelligence memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning that Iranian lethal targeting of U.S. diplomats and personnel had reached "advanced stages," prompting embassy drawdowns and evacuations across the Middle East. Reports also emerged that Trump was leaning toward major combat operations against Iran, including briefings on options to seize Iranian-controlled islands in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. had deployed 24 ships to the region. Heavy GPS jamming was reported across the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and Houthi forces launched a broad assault on Saudi sites.

The selloff triggered a cascade of forced liquidations. Over $200 million in leveraged long positions were wiped out within 15 minutes of Bitcoin breaching $80,000. Within one hour the total reached $291 million, with long positions accounting for $274 million of that figure and Bitcoin and Ether liquidations combined totaling $156.59 million. The 24-hour liquidation total climbed to $838 million by mid-afternoon, according to Cointelegraph. The broader crypto market cap fell 4.06% over 24 hours.

Other major tokens fell sharply alongside Bitcoin. Solana dropped below $100, XRP fell under $1.30, and Uniswap lost 3.15% in one hour to $6.63 on Binance Spot, down 6.49% over 24 hours. NEAR Protocol slid 11.31% over 24 hours. Ether has now lost 14.7% over the past 28 days and has lagged Bitcoin by 9.15 percentage points over the same period, with U.S. Ether ETFs recording another outflow on October 22. Commentator Peter Schiff predicted $75,000 as the next support level, noting that ETF investors would be unable to exit positions until markets reopened Monday.

Geopolitical signals continued to intensify into the evening. Netanyahu stated that Iran had restarted its nuclear program with intent to destroy Israel, Israel carried out strikes on warehouses in Iraq storing Chinese-made MANPAD systems transferred from Iran, and Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a U.S. lift of its blockade on Iranian ports.