Bitcoin sinks below $71k as Powellโs hawkish tone and Iranโs oil shock trigger a $542M liquidation wave across leveraged crypto markets.
Summary
- Bitcoin drops to about $71,313, Ethereum to $2,201, as crypto and stocks sell off on Fed projections and oil shock fears.
- Powell flags oil-driven inflation, keeps just one 2026 rate cut in the dot plot, crushing hopes for easier policy and triggering a risk-off move.
- Over $542M in mostly long liquidations and Brent above $110 show how leveraged crypto positioning collides with Iran-driven energy turmoil.
Crypto markets extended their slide into Thursday as the combined aftershock of the Federal Reserveโs March policy meeting and an escalating oil shock from the Iran conflict continued to rattle risk assets. Bitcoin (BTC) fell to approximately $71,313 (-4.62%), Ethereum dropped to $2,201 (-5.92%), and a cascade of leveraged long positions was wiped out โ with total network-wide liquidations reaching $542 million over 24 hours, of which $448 million were long positions. It was the largest liquidation event in weeks, and the most heavily one-sided since the early stages of the U.S.-Iran conflict in late February.โ
The proximate trigger was Wednesdayโs Federal Open Market Committee decision and, more critically, the press conference that followed. The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.5%โ3.75% as universally expected, with the FOMC voting 11-1 to maintain that range. But the new Summary of Economic Projections โ the first of 2026 โ delivered the information markets least wanted to hear. The Fed raised its 2026 PCE inflation forecast to 2.7%, up from a prior estimate of 2.4%, citing the oil shock stemming from Iranโs blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a direct driver. The dot plotโs median remained anchored at just one 25-basis-point cut for all of 2026, dashing residual hopes for a more accommodative path.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell was unambiguous in his press conference. โThe oil shock for sure shows up,โ he said, referring to its impact on the central bankโs projections. In his opening statement, he noted that near-term inflation expectations โhave risen in recent weeks, likely reflecting the substantial rise in oil prices caused by the supplyโ disruption โ a reference to the Hormuz closure that has taken roughly 20% of global oil flows offline since late February. Core PCE rose 3.0% in the 12 months through February, well above the Fedโs 2% target. Powell rejected comparisons to 1970s stagflation, arguing unemployment remains near normal levels, but acknowledged the tension between the Fedโs dual mandate goals in the current environment.โ
The market reaction was swift and familiar. Bitcoin dropped from approximately $74,000 to $70,900 within hours of the press conference โ its eighth decline following an FOMC meeting out of the last nine. The Nasdaq closed down 1.5% on Wednesday, the Dow and S&P 500 reversed five consecutive sessions of gains to hit their lowest levels since November, and 10-year Treasury yields climbed more than 5 basis points. On Thursday, the selloff continued, with the Dow opening down 420 points (-0.91%), the S&P 500 -0.89%, and the Nasdaq -1.23%.
The liquidation breakdown tells its own story: Bitcoin longs alone accounted for $172 million in forced selling, ETH longs for $126 million, with a total of 143,776 traders liquidated globally. The largest single liquidation โ an ETH position worth $17.98 million on Aster โ underscores how aggressively leveraged some participants were ahead of the FOMC. Long-term Bitcoin holders were also reported to have sold over 1,650 BTC worth approximately $117 million in the wake of Powellโs remarks.
With Brent crude now above $110 per barrel following renewed Iranian attacks on regional energy facilities, and a Fed that has explicitly incorporated oil-driven inflation into its baseline forecast, the conditions for a near-term rate cut have seldom looked more remote.
