Crypto slides on Hormuz airstrikes as $897 million in long liquidations pile up

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Crypto slides on Hormuz airstrikes as $897 million in long liquidations pile up BTC dropped to its lowest since April 13 and ETH broke below $2,000 as U.S. airstrikes stoked inflation concerns, wiping out nearly $900 million in leveraged longs. By Oliver Knight , Shaurya Malwa | Edited by Sheldon Reback May 28, 2026, 10:44 a.m. 3 min read Make preferred on Bitcoin price (CoinDesk Data) What to know : Nearly $958 million of crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with longs accounting for $897 million of the total as investors shifted to risk-off sentiment following airstrikes in the Strait of Hormuz. Ether open interest hit a record even as the token fell below $2,000, a divergence that typically signals traders are adding shorts in anticipation of further losses rather than buying the dip. Around $8 billion in options expire on Deribit on Friday, with bitcoin's max pain at $75,000 just above spot price. Despite headline volatility near yearly lows, the put-call skew remains elevated, meaning traders are still paying for downside protection. Bitcoin BTC $ 73,382.32 fell to its lowest level since April 13 on Thursday as U.S. airstrikes in the Strait of Hormuz dashed ceasefire hopes and sent a chill through risk assets globally. The largest cryptocurrency is currently trading near $73,400, down around 1.2% since midnight but above the day's low it hit around 6:30 UTC. Ether (ETH), meanwhile, slipped below $2,000 for the first time since March 29, shedding 1.5%. The immediate catalyst was a spike in oil prices. Crude jumped to $96 a barrel from $92 before settling at $94 during the European morning, a move that stoked fresh inflation concerns across markets. U.S. equity index futures are also feeling the pressure, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 derivatives down 0.11% and 0.25%, respectively, reinforcing the broadly risk-off tone heading into the American session. Derivatives positioning Liquidations totaled $958.8 million over the past 24 hours, with longs accounting for $897 million versus just $61 million in shorts. The lopsided wipeout tracks a market grinding lower rather than a sharp two-way flush. Bitcoin open interest barely moved, but the flat overall reading masks a 9.85% drop in CME open interest to $7.56 billion. Regulated futures are coming off while offshore perps hold steady and, with funding neutral at 0.0058%, nobody is chasing the move with leverage. Ether open interest climbed to a record 16.39 million ETH ($32.61 billion), up 0.61% over 24 hours, even as the token slipped below $2,000. Open interest rising while the price falls points to traders adding shorts in anticipation of deeper losses rather than buying the dip. Open interest for XRP fell 0.49% to 2.28 billion XRP ($2.94 billion) as the token's price softened. The simultaneous decline reads as bullish bets closing out rather than new shorts opening. Perpetual funding on XRP and SOL also turned negative across nearly every venue, with shorts paying longs on Binance at -0.0123% and -0.0161%, and Gate the lone positive outlier, a sign traders are leaning short the majors. About $8 billion in options expires on Deribit on Friday, $6.5 billion in bitcoin (roughly 86,000 contracts) and $1.4 billion in ether. Max pain for bitcoin sits at $75,000, just above spot price, with $375 million in put notional clustered at that strike and $640 million in open interest stacked at the $80,000 resistance line that marks the 200-day moving average. Deribit's DVOL volatility index sits near 36, the eighth percentile of the past year, while ether volatility is at its first percentile and the lowest since early 2024. Still, the 25-delta put-call skew is elevated at +12.3% on the one-week and +10.3% on the one-month for bitcoin, so traders are paying up for immediate downside protection even with headline volatility crushed. Token talk The CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) fell 2.9% after midnight UTC on Thursday as the broader altcoin market suffered from bitcoin and ether's relative weakness. A lack of liquidity across several altcoin pairs led to exaggerated moves. Humanity protocol (H) tumbled by more than 30% at 21:45 UTC on Wednesday before almost instantly snapping back. It has jumped 26% since midnight UTC. These selloffs typically wipe all resting orders off the orderbook, leaving a void for traders to capitalize on while bids and asks slowly begin to repopulate. It was also a rough morning for AI tokens RENDER and FET, down by 5.5% and 8.5%, respectively. DeFi tokens JUP and ETHFI also lost around 5%. CoinMarketCap's "Altcoin Season" indicator plummeted to its lowest level in more than 90 days. It currently sits at 30/100, reflecting broader risk-off sentiment. Crypto Markets Today More For You Diverging trends: Ether slides below $2,000 while futures open interest hits record high of 16 million ETH By Omkar Godbole | Edited by Shaurya Malwa 3 hours ago Ether drops below $2,000 amid heavy selling pressure, yet futures open interest hits a record high. This divergences suggests aggressive shorting. What to know : Ether has fallen below $2,000 for the first time since March amid rising risk aversion, with losses of nearly 8% over the past week. Open interest in ether futures has hit a record high even as prices drop, a combination that suggests aggressive leveraged selling and a bearish market tilt. 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