Why is crypto market crashing today? (March 19)

The global crypto market fell sharply on Thursday as new geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns threw cold water on investor appetite for risk assets.

Bitcoin (BTC), the bellwether asset, dropped nearly 5% to $70,600 on Thursday, down from the $74,000 levels seen the previous day. Ethereum (ETH) fell 6% to $2,187, while XRP (XRP), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) experienced losses ranging between 3% and 6%. 

Zcash (ZEC), Worldcoin (WLD), and LayerZero (ZRO) bore some of the steepest losses amid the market-wide drop that brought the total crypto market capitalization down to $2.51 trillion.

Crypto prices fell sharply shortly after Israel launched an unprecedented cyber and drone attack on Iran’s largest gas facility, South Pars. According to reports, the massive complex powers nearly 70% of the nation’s domestic gas supply, the loss of which has threatened the country’s power grid.

The strike comes amid an escalating energy war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, which has led to a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil transit, and sent crude oil and gas prices soaring to record highs. Iran had earlier vowed to push oil prices to as high as $200.

The latest attack has not only shaken the crypto market but has rippled across traditional finance as well. Notably, Gold has dropped 2.1% over the day, casting investors’ doubts over its safe haven status, while Silver fell 3.5%. Together, these precious metals erased nearly $150 billion from the market.

Traditional stock indices across the globe have also fallen in tandem with risk assets. Notably, Asian benchmarks like Japan’s Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng have fallen over 2%. Even U.S. indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 Index have all sharply fallen across the board.

However, oil prices took a different path, rising to new levels. Notably, Brent Crude has jumped 3% to a new record high of $112 on Thursday as traders price in a prolonged disruption in a region that remains a major source of global energy production.

Typically, when gold and cryptocurrency prices crash together, it means traders are fleeing to cash rather than rotating between alternative assets.

Hotter U.S. PPI data and Fed announcement deliver a double blow to bulls

Fears of sticky inflation also played a major role in the crypto market drop today. On Wednesday, the U.S. revealed that the PPI data came in much hotter than expected, with a record monthly gain in a year for wholesale costs. This came as the market was already cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve rate decision that was scheduled for later in the day.

In his speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell echoed concerns surrounding elevated inflation levels. Powell clarified that the Federal Reserve is prepared to hold interest rates steady as it sticks to a data-driven strategy to combat rising inflation stemming from the oil shock. As such, market hopes for rate cuts this year have fallen slim.

The resulting crash from potential delays in rate cuts and the surging oil price as a result of Middle East tensions together triggered a liquidation cascade across leveraged crypto markets. 

Data from CoinGlass shows that over $481 million in long positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin and Ethereum accounting for the majority of it, with $143 million and $127 million in long liquidations, respectively.

Long liquidations occur when investors bet on a price increase, and the asset price drops enough to hit their margin limits, forcing the exchange to automatically close their trades.