By KBC Associate 
Key points:
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The total crypto market cap fell 4% to $3.24 trillion on June 13, in response to Israel’s attack on Iran.
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Over $1.15 million in crypto futures liquidated, with $1 billion in longs.
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The total crypto market cap‘s bull flag suggests the uptrend remains intact.
The combined valuation of all cryptocurrencies has fallen by more than 4% in the past 24 hours to reach $3.24 trillion on June 13 in reaction to Israel striking Iran.
Let’s look closer at the factors driving the crypto market down today.
Crypto prices fall as Israel strikes Iran
Geopolitical instability, particularly in the Middle East, has rattled global financial markets, including cryptocurrencies. Israel has conducted a military operation inside Iranian airspace, bringing the conflict closer to an all-out war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country has attacked Iran’s nuclear program and other targets across the country, and that the strikes will continue until the threat is removed.
Israel strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear program and “dozens of targets” across different areas, Israeli military official sayshttps://t.co/2lQrWXLH3u
— CNN (@CNN) June 13, 2025
The uncertainty surrounding potential retaliatory actions from Iran and its allies has led investors to reduce exposure to risk-on assets, contributing to a sharp decline in crypto prices.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by as much as 5.6% to as low as $102,700 on Bitstamp before recovering to the current levels above $104,000. Other cryptocurrencies fared even worse, with Ether (ETH) dipping as low as $2,400 on June 13, marking 9.4% losses over the last 24 hours. XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) also witnessed significant losses, down 5.8% and 9.6%, respectively.
US stock index futures also dropped across the board on the news.
Meanwhile, bond prices, gold and oil moved higher as investors flocked into safe-haven assets.
“Oil prices are now above $72/barrel for the first time in over 4 months,” capital markets commentator The Kobeissi Letter said in a June 13 post on X, adding:
“The market appears to be pricing in a new war.”
Over $1.1 billion in crypto liquidations
The cryptocurrency market’s sell-off today coincides with a wave of liquidations in the futures market, totaling $1.15 million in the last 24 hours.
Notably, the futures market witnessed long liquidations worth $1 billion, the largest single-day liquidation since Feb. 25. Short traders saw significantly lower liquidations at $93 million.
Bitcoin and Ether led the losses with $448.1 million and $288.4 million in liquidations, respectively. Solana followed with $52.1 million, while Dogecoin and XRP saw $27.6 million and $23 million liquidated.
This scale of liquidation exacerbates price drops and instills fear among other market participants, leading to further selling pressure.
A technical correction?
Today’s decline in the crypto market follows a rally that saw TOTAL, the combined market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies, rise by over 51% to $3.5 trillion between March and mid-May.
The price has since pulled back slightly to the current value of $3.24 trillion. This move has formed a bull flag pattern on the weekly time frame, as shown in the chart below.
The market rose above the upper trendline of the bull flag at $2.35 trillion earlier this week before dropping back into the confines of the flag on June 13. A decisive breakout above this level will result in a 58% increase in the global crypto market capitalization to $5.05 trillion.
The RSI was moving within the positive region at 57, suggesting that the market conditions still favor the upside.
On the downside, a weekly close below the lower boundary of the flag at $3.1 trillion could trigger another sell-off first toward the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $2.75 trillion and later to the base of the flag at $2.31 trillion.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.