{"id":22567,"date":"2026-02-23T11:05:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/will-crypto-markets-crash-if-us-strikes-iran-within-hours\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:05:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:05:38","slug":"will-crypto-markets-crash-if-us-strikes-iran-within-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/will-crypto-markets-crash-if-us-strikes-iran-within-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Will crypto markets crash if US strikes Iran within hours?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Crypto markets are flashing deep stress signals as geopolitical tensions surrounding a potential U.S. strike on Iran intensify and liquidity continues to drain from the system.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_70bbec60a8b3d43e20615631723dc8fe\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Crypto Fear &amp; Greed Index has plunged to 5, signaling extreme panic as geopolitical tensions around a potential U.S. strike on Iran intensify.<\/li>\n<li>Bitcoin has dropped below key technical levels, while the broader crypto market has erased over $2.22 trillion \u2014 down more than 50% from its peak, marking one of the largest drawdowns in history.<\/li>\n<li>Despite the selloff, shrinking USDT supply down over $3 billion in 60 days suggests liquidity contraction that has historically appeared near late-stage market bottoms.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Iran strike fears spill into crypto markets<\/h2>\n<p>The Crypto Fear &amp; Greed Index has plunged to 5 \u2014 \u201cExtreme Fear\u201d, one of the lowest readings in years, showing panic-level sentiment. Historically, such extreme readings have only appeared during major market dislocations, including the 2020 COVID crash and the 2022 bear market lows.<\/p>\n<p>The collapse in sentiment mirrors Bitcoin\u2019s sharp drop below key technical levels, reinforcing the view that traders are positioning defensively amid geopolitical uncertainty.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><\/figure>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<p>At the same time, prediction market <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/polymarket.com\/event\/us-strikes-iran-by\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Polymarket<\/a> shows rising bets on possible U.S. military action in early March, with probabilities climbing steadily day by day, reflecting growing geopolitical uncertainty priced into markets.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1190\" height=\"773\" src=\"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771844721_602_Will-crypto-markets-crash-if-US-strikes-Iran-within-hours.webp.webp\" alt=\"Will crypto markets crash if US strikes Iran within hours? - 2\" class=\"wp-image-14451599\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traders bet on when U.S. will strike Iran | Source: Polymarket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, price action mirrors the anxiety. Bitcoin has fallen sharply from recent highs and is trading well below its 50-day moving average, while the broader crypto market has shed more than $2.22 trillion, down over 50% from its peak. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1814\" height=\"915\" src=\"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771844722_744_Will-crypto-markets-crash-if-US-strikes-Iran-within-hours.webp.webp\" alt=\"Will crypto markets crash if US strikes Iran within hours? - 3\" class=\"wp-image-14451600\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bitcoin price performance | Source: Crypto. News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a widely shared <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/coinbureau\/status\/2025856801280086078\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">post<\/a>, Coin Bureau warned that \u201cCRYPTO MAY BE HEADING TOWARD ITS LARGEST CRASH EVER,\u201d noting that the current drawdown is now the second-biggest dollar loss in history, just $60 billion shy of the all-time record.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u26a0\ufe0f CRYPTO MAY BE HEADING TOWARD ITS LARGEST CRASH EVER<\/p>\n<p>The magnitude of losses now places this selloff among the most severe events in market history.<\/p>\n<p>Over $2.22 TRILLION has already been erased, sending crypto down more than 50% from its peak.<\/p>\n<p>This is now the 2nd biggest\u2026 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OoJzoJti4Q\">pic.twitter.com\/OoJzoJti4Q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/coinbureau\/status\/2025856801280086078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">February 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Yet liquidity data suggests a more nuanced picture. Another Coin Bureau <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/coinbureau\/status\/2025834259777261659\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">analysis<\/a> highlighted that USDT supply has fallen by more than $3 billion in 60 days, a contraction last seen during the FTX collapse. <\/p>\n<p>Historically, shrinking stablecoin supply signals capital leaving the market but similar conditions in 2022 marked Bitcoin\u2019s cycle bottom. <\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, while a potential U.S. strike on Iran could trigger another wave of short-term volatility, the data suggests markets may already be pricing in extreme risk. With sentiment at capitulation levels, over $2.22 trillion erased, and stablecoin liquidity contracting to levels previously seen near cycle lows, the conditions resemble late-stage selloffs more than the early phases of a collapse.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Crypto markets are flashing deep stress signals as geopolitical tensions surrounding a potential U.S. strike on Iran intensify and liquidity continues to drain from the system. Summary The Crypto Fear&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22568,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22567\/revisions\/22568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}