Bitcoin sinks below $99,000 as U.S. strikes on Iran trigger crypto market sell-off
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since May over the weekend, as rising tensions in the Middle East and renewed inflation fears triggered a sharp selloff across digital assets.
Bitcoin dropped below the $99,000 mark on Sunday — its lowest point in more than a month — as the crypto market became the first to react to escalating geopolitical risk.
Bitcoin is trading around $99,380, down more than 2% over the past 24 hours, while ether has dropped 5% to below $2,200. Solana, XRP, and dogecoin also posted sharp losses, dragging the entire crypto complex deep into the red.
The selloff appears to be a combination of geopolitical shock and macroeconomic concern.
Iran has reportedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping lane that handles about 20% of global oil supply. JPMorgan warns that a full closure could drive oil prices as high as $130 per barrel.
One prominent macro research firm notes that such a spike could send U.S. inflation back toward 5% — a level not seen since March 2023, when the Fed was still actively raising rates.
That outlook has traders reassessing the path of interest rates — and rotating out of speculative assets like crypto.
While bitcoin is often pitched as an inflation hedge, it's currently behaving more like a high-beta tech stock. According to crypto data provider Kaiko, bitcoin's correlation with the tech-heavy Nasdaq has climbed sharply in recent weeks, after hitting a multi-month low earlier this year — a period that coincided with surging inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs.
Institutional positioning also appears to have shifted.
More than $1.04 billion flowed into spot bitcoin ETFs from Monday through Wednesday last week, according to data from CoinGlass. But those inflows collapsed heading into the weekend, with zero net movement Thursday and just $6.4 million on Friday — coinciding with President Donald Trump's early G7 departure and the announcement of a two-week review of U.S. options on Iran.
The technical breakdown added fuel to the selloff.
CoinGlass research shows bitcoin's drop below $99,000 triggered forced selling across offshore derivatives platforms like Binance and Bybit. At its peak on Sunday, more than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated during a 24-hour span — with over 95% coming from long bets, underscoring just how overexposed the market was heading into the weekend.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
11 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Crypto Fervor Is Growing, But Some Remain Cautious - Place Your Bets Either Way With LMBO Or REKT
By Kyle Anthony, Benzinga DETROIT, MICHIGAN - June 23, 2025 ( NEWMEDIAWIRE ) - For many crypto enthusiasts, Donald Trump's re-election as president of the United States is a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry, given his stated proposals. For them, the Trump administration represents a promise of regulator clarity; an element that they may argue was absent in the previous administration. Beginning with financial oversight, Trump has appointed former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul S. Atkins to lead the agency once more. Atkins replaced the outgoing commissioner, Gary Gensler, a noted critic and perceived adversary of the cryptocurrency industry. From a policy standpoint, two critical bills, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act, look poised to transform the cryptocurrency landscape. FIT21 seeks to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets by classifying tokens as digital assets or commodities. The main feature of this bill is that it bifurcates regulatory oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where the former must regulate a digital asset as a commodity if the blockchain, or digital ledger, on which it runs is functional and decentralized. Conversely, the latter will regulate a digital asset as a security if its associated blockchain is functional but not decentralized. Furthermore, as President Trump mentioned during his campaigning, the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act could potentially establish a national reserve for Bitcoin, boosting its legitimacy and global recognition. If passed, it could encourage other nations to adopt similar policies. Submitted to Congress on July 31, 2024, and currently under Senate Banking Committee review, Trump seems well-positioned to advance this bill. Several U.S. states have also proposed Bitcoin reserve legislation, signaling that Bitcoin as a strategic reserve may become a reality in 2025. With the Republican party having a majority in Congress, albeit small, it is anticipated by many that there will be little resistance to passing the above-mentioned bills or enacting any policy President Trump deems necessary to his agenda. Finally, under the new Trump administration, relaxed application of the Howey Test – a framework set by the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract and therefore be considered a security – by the SEC could increase approvals for spot crypto ETFs and public listings of crypto companies. Voices Of Caution At the same time, it's always important to maintain caution, and respected publications have in the past warned about shifts from rags to riches back to rags often occurring within a matter of weeks. Thus far, the hope of potential changes in cryptocurrency regulation has led to a rally in prices for various cryptocurrencies but has also opened the door for opportunism. Preceding his inauguration, President Trump and his wife launched meme coins – cryptocurrencies often inspired by internet memes or trends – a move some industry onlookers view as a cash grab, which undermines the legitimacy of digital assets in the public sphere. The increasing sentiment towards cryptocurrencies following the November 2024 election has resulted in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rising based on the expectation of regulatory change; however, if said change does not materialize, a broad market sell-off is also possible. Of President Trump's flurry of executive orders and proclamations on inauguration day, none pertained to cryptocurrency regulation. With momentum building around cryptocurrency policy, if it does not materialize meaningfully, there is a growing possibility of a correction. Geoff Kendrick, global head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, noted the possibility of a 10-20% sell-off if no meaningful policy change is implemented. Gaining Comprehensive Exposure To The Crypto Industry With Direxion For investors looking to gain comprehensive exposure to the crypto industry, Direxion's Daily Crypto Industry Bull 2X and Bear 1X Shares – (ARCA: LMBO) and (ARCA: REKT), respectively – offer enhanced, pure-play exposure to U.S.-listed securities that have business operations in the field of distributed ledger or decentralized payment technology, which includes the following business fields: blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance and digital asset mining hardware. These leveraged ETFs are designed to emulate the daily performance of the Solactive Distributed Ledger & Decentralized Payment Tech Index, enabling investors to gain exposure to the index's movements with returns of 300% on its rise or 100% of the inverse. It is important to note that these solutions are intended to take advantage of short-term trends and should not be held for more than a day. Whether bullish or bearish on the crypto industry, these ETFs can help traders easily engage with the industry's growth patterns. However, it's crucial to approach these leveraged products with a clear understanding of their risks. While the amplified exposure can translate to significant gains, it can also lead to substantial losses. These ETFs are best suited for those who can actively manage the inherent risks of leverage and are looking to capitalize on short-term trends occurring with the firm. Learn more about both ETFs on Direxion's website here. Featured photo by Traxer on Unsplash. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. This content was originally published on Benzinga. Read further disclosures here. An investor should carefully consider a Fund's investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. A Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Direxion Shares. To obtain a Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus call 866-476-7523 or visit our website at A Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Leveraged and Inverse ETFs pursue daily leveraged investment objectives which means they are riskier than alternatives which do not use leverage. They seek daily goals and should not be expected to track the underlying index over periods longer than one day. They are not suitable for all investors and should be utilized only by sophisticated investors who understand leverage risk and who actively manage their investments. The Solactive Distributed Ledger & Decentralized Payment Tech Index (SOLDLDPT) seeks to track the performance of US-listed securities that have business operations in the field of distributed ledger or decentralized payment technology, which includes the following business fields: blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance, and digital asset mining hardware. One cannot invest directly in an index. Solactive AG is not a sponsor of, or in any way affiliated with, the Direxion Daily Crypto Industry Bull 2X Shares or Direxion Daily Crypto Industry Bear 1X Shares. Direxion Shares Risks – An investment in a Fund involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. A Fund is non-diversified and includes risks associated with the Fund's concentrating its investments in a particular industry, sector, or geography which can increase volatility. The use of derivatives such as futures contracts and swaps are subject to market risks that may cause prices to fluctuate over time. Leverage Risk – The Bull Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. A total loss may occur in a single day. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund's correlation with the Index and may increase the volatility of the Fund. Daily Index Correlation Risk – A number of factors may affect the Bull Fund's ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. The Bull Fund's exposure to the Index is impacted by the Index's movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Bull Fund will be perfectly exposed to the Index at the end of each day. The possibility of the Bull Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Index increases on days when the Index is volatile near the close of the trading day. Daily Inverse Index Correlation Risk – A number of factors may affect the Bear Fund's ability to achieve a high degree of inverse correlation with the Index and therefore achieve its daily inverse leveraged investment objective. The Bear Fund's exposure to the Index is impacted by the Index's movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Bear Fund will be perfectly exposed to the Index at the end of each day. The possibility of the Bear Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Index increases on days when the Index is volatile near the close of the trading day. Crypto Industry Investing Risk — Companies in the crypto industry are subject to various risks, including the inability to develop digital asset applications or to capitalize on those applications, theft, loss, or destruction of cryptographic keys, the possibility that digital asset technologies may never be fully implemented, cybersecurity risk, conflicting intellectual property claims, and inconsistent and changing regulations. Information Technology Sector Risk — The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation, and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from competitors with lower production costs. Financials Sector Risk — Performance of companies in the financials sector may be materially impacted by many factors, including but not limited to, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. Additional risks of each Fund include Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk, Market Risk, Counterparty Risk, Rebalancing Risk, Intra-Day Investment Risk, Other Investment Companies (including ETFs Risk), Cash Transaction Risk, Passive Investment and Index Performance Risk and for the Direxion Daily Crypto Industry Bear 1X Shares, Shorting or Inverse Risk. Please see the summary and full prospectuses for a more complete description of these and other risks of a Fund. ALPS Distributors, Inc. View the original release on
Associated Press
11 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Blueprint Finance Raises Additional $9.5 Million to Build the Next Generation of DeFi Infrastructure Solutions
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 23, 2025-- Today, Blueprint Finance, a multi-chain DeFi infrastructure company and the core developer of both the Ethereum-based Concrete and Solana-based Glow Finance, announced it has raised a fresh $9.5 million in funding led by Polychain Capital, including a strategic investment from Yzi Labs (formerly Binance Labs). To date, Blueprint has raised more than $17 million. This raise includes participation from other leading investment and venture capital firms in the industry, including VanEck, Selini Capital, Portal Ventures, Auros, Halo Capital, Leadblock Bitpanda Ventures, BitGo, and Gate Ventures, among others. Following last year's $7.5M raise, Blueprint Finance emerged from stealth to launch Concrete, an Ethereum-based protocol building next-generation infrastructure for DeFi-native asset management. The platform enables developers, DAOs, and institutional allocators to launch, manage, and scale composable, tokenized on-chain portfolios, which also serve as the foundation for new derivative assets. Since launching earlier this year, Concrete has released a series of products that include liquidity bootstrapping campaigns for new networks as well as yield strategy vaults that have collectively gained over $650m in TVL. The funds in this round will be used to enable the continued growth of the Concrete and Glow protocols, scale new products, increase institutional adoption, and facilitate go-to-market expansion. This raise comes on the heels of Blueprint's expansion into the Solana ecosystem with the recent launch of Glow Finance in April. Glow was born from Blueprint's acquisition of Jet Protocol, a Solana-native lending platform, in October 2024, which now serves as the substructure for the Glow protocol. Building upon this layer, Glow will introduce novel mechanisms such as portable margin accounts, automated yield vaults, and staking markets, while continuing to develop new features and soon-to-be-released new products. 'This round of fundraising comes at a time of rapid growth for our team,' said Nic Roberts-Huntley, CEO and co-founder of Blueprint Finance. 'We've shipped two protocols on two of the most important and active ecosystems in DeFi, and this capital gives us the continued ability to build and serve both retail users and institutional-grade investors at scale.' 'The DeFi industry is entering a period of maturation marked by more sustainable growth, better risk management, and a strong focus on usability,' said Josh Rosenthal, general partner at Polychain Capital. 'Blueprint Finance is building protocols designed with institutional-grade security and liquidity considerations in mind. The new era of DeFi, ushered in by protocols like Concrete and Glow, is set to meet the rising demand of an industry transitioning into a foundational component of the broader financial system.' The Blueprint Finance team is composed of veterans from leading firms in both traditional finance and Web3, including Point72, Morgan Stanley, Consensys, and Coinbase. Additionally, the team has made a number of strategic new hires, including: Chief Growth Officer, Luke Hajdukiewicz, former Head of Sales at EigenLayer; Head of Product, Graeme Barnes, former Head of Product at Maple; Senior Smart Contract Engineer, Haythem Sellami, former Smart Contract Lead at Euler; and Engineering Manager, Gustavo Silva, former Staff Technical Lead at Consensys. About Blueprint Finance Blueprint Finance designs institutional-caliber DeFi solutions through its dual-protocol system. Concrete powers tokenized DeFi native asset management and the creation of new derivatives for any asset, while Glow powers yield, trading, and lending on Solana. Since launch, Blueprint has secured over $650M in total value locked by streamlining sophisticated financial engineering with intuitive user experiences. The company's quantitative framework transforms complex DeFi mechanisms into products that work reliably for both institutions and individuals alike. By eliminating traditional DeFi pain points like liquidation risk and capital fragmentation, Blueprint is building the technical foundation for broader institutional adoption of decentralized finance. View source version on [email protected] KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TECHNOLOGY CRYPTOCURRENCY FINANCE FINTECH DIGITAL CASH MANAGEMENT/DIGITAL ASSETS SOURCE: Blueprint Finance Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/23/2025 09:15 AM/DISC: 06/23/2025 09:14 AM
Associated Press
11 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Grid Dynamics Announces AI-Powered Engagement Model Enabling Accelerated Business Transformation for Fortune 1000 Enterprises
SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 23, 2025-- Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GDYN) (Grid Dynamics)—a prominent technology consulting and digital services provider specializing in AI, platform and product engineering, and digital engagement services—today announced the launch of an innovative AI-powered engagement model for its software engineering services. This new model is specifically engineered to deliver the next level of agility, quality, and accelerated time-to-market for Fortune 1000 enterprises. Grid Dynamics' innovative approach expands its engagement offerings beyond traditional Fixed Price, Time and Materials, and Capacity-based engagements. Key features include: At the center of the new engagement model is the Grid Dynamics AI Native Development Framework (GAIN Development Framework), which represents a shift from the traditional effort-based development model to an AI & Human collaboration model optimized for global, enterprise-scale delivery. The GAIN Development Framework is lean, with an emphasis on domain specialists, software architects, and experts in emerging technology, while leveraging Grid Dynamics' AI-Enabled Development Platform to automate routine coding and testing tasks. This structure helps ensure that our clients' investments are focused on creative, high-impact engineering that solves their most complex problems. 'We are redefining how software is built,' said Valery Zelixon, SVP of Sales at Grid Dynamics. 'The GAIN Development Framework is not just about automation—it's about unlocking the full potential of engineering teams. By streamlining repetitive tasks and accelerating innovation cycles, we're helping our clients bring high-impact products to market faster, with greater precision and affordable cost. This marks a major shift in how organizations scale technology.' 'The combination of AI-enabled software development and enterprise-scale delivery creates unprecedented opportunities,' said Leonard Livschitz, CEO of Grid Dynamics. 'And our position at the intersection of innovation and scale, along with our deep AI expertise, enable us to consistently solve complex business challenges and deliver client value at an accelerated pace. We expect this new engagement model to be a significant growth driver as more Fortune 1000 enterprises seek our expertise to harness AI's potential.' Visit this page to learn more. About Grid Dynamics Grid Dynamics (Nasdaq: GDYN) is a leading provider of technology consulting, platform and product engineering, AI, and digital engagement services. Fusing technical vision with business acumen, we solve the most pressing technical challenges and enable positive business outcomes for enterprise companies undergoing business transformation. A key differentiator for Grid Dynamics is our 8 years of experience and leadership in enterprise AI, supported by profound expertise and ongoing investment in data and ML platform engineering, cloud platform and product engineering, IoT and edge computing, and digital engagement services. Founded in 2006, Grid Dynamics is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices across the Americas, Europe, and India. Follow us on LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results of Grid Dynamics to differ materially from those expected and projected. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'may,' 'will,' 'potential,' 'projects,' 'predicts,' 'continue,' or 'should,' or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, quotations and statements regarding the expected benefits of our capabilities and our company's future growth including with customers, the AI-Enabled Development Platform, and the Grid Dynamics AI-Native Development Framework. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside Grid Dynamics' control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to our ability to achieve its expected benefits, the expected performance and functionality of our software offerings, as well as any factors limiting our capabilities, the benefits of our services and products, and our company's growth strategy. Grid Dynamics cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Grid Dynamics cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Grid Dynamics does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Further information about factors that could materially affect Grid Dynamics, including its results of operations and financial condition, is set forth under the 'Risk Factors' section of Grid Dynamics' annual report on Form 10-K filed February 27, 2025, and in other periodic filings Grid Dynamics makes with the SEC. View source version on CONTACT: Media Contact: Cary Savas +1 (650) 523 5000 [email protected] KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SOFTWARE INTERNET DATA ANALYTICS DATA MANAGEMENT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOURCE: Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/23/2025 09:15 AM/DISC: 06/23/2025 09:14 AM
