Bitcoin and Ether Drop Hard After Nvidia Scandal and Iran Talks
The drop followed turmoil around Nvidia and stalled Iran talks, with more than $1 billion in futures liquidations. Ether was hit harder than Bitcoin.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin fell to about $73,761 on Sunday evening and then recovered above $75,000.
- Ether briefly slipped below $2,100 and then recovered to about $2,144.
- More than $1 billion in futures positions were liquidated in 24 hours, mostly long positions.
Bitcoin and Ether saw sharp price swings over just a few hours, while leveraged positions were wiped out en masse. The crypto market reacted to two unsettling headlines out of the U.S.: the scandal involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and the report that talks with Iran had stalled.
Sharp Turn in the Market
Bitcoin fell on Sunday evening to about $73,761 (€66,100), its lowest level since August, and then climbed back above $75,000 (€67,200). Ether dropped even harder, briefly falling below $2,100 (€1,880), before the price moved back to about $2,144 (€1,920).
Those moves came at a time when crypto was the only major market open over the weekend. That meant the first reaction to the news showed up in crypto right away, while stock investors still had to wait for Monday’s open.
More Than $1 Billion (€0.9 Billion) Liquidated
The fast drop triggered a wave of forced selling in futures. According to CoinGlass, more than $1 billion (€0.9 billion) in liquidations were wiped out in 24 hours, with most of that happening in the last six hours. Long positions accounted for $913 million (€818 million) of that total, showing how badly traders who were betting on further gains got hit.
Ether took the hardest hit relative to the rest. Of the liquidations, $448 million (€401 million) came from ETH, almost twice as much as the $272 million (€244 million) in Bitcoin. The largest single liquidation was also an ETH order, worth $48 million (€43 million).
Why This Matters
For European crypto investors, this shows how quickly macro and stock-market news can spill over into Bitcoin and Ether, especially when the market is already packed with leverage. The link to Nvidia is also relevant, because worries about the AI sector can affect broader risk appetite. That makes weekend moves like these extra important, because crypto is often the first place where news gets priced in before other markets catch up.
The earlier pressure from oil and rates also shows how sensitive Bitcoin still is to geopolitical and macroeconomic shocks. Back then, the same kinds of risks were already part of the price reaction.