Bitcoin and ether extended losses as geopolitical tensions escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that the “clock is ticking,” sending oil prices higher and triggering a wave of liquidations across crypto markets.

Bitcoin (BTC) came under pressure at the start of CME futures trading late Sunday (23:00 UTC), falling about 2.4% to around $76,500 — its lowest level since April 30. The decline followed Trump’s social media remarks cautioning Iran to act quickly or face severe consequences, dampening global risk appetite.

Brent crude briefly surged above $112 per barrel in response, while risk assets broadly moved lower. U.S. equity futures also slipped, with contracts tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 declining 0.3% and 0.25%, respectively.

Ether (ETH) underperformed bitcoin, dropping roughly 3.5% to trade near $2,116, effectively erasing gains from April’s rally as liquidation pressure intensified.

Derivatives data signaled forced deleveraging. Total futures trading volume jumped 65% to $159 billion over 24 hours, while open interest fell 1.48% to $125 billion. Liquidations surged 500% to $677 million, underscoring the scale of position unwinds rather than new directional bets.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) stood out, with open interest rising 13% to 1.47 million coins — the highest since early April — even as funding rates plunged to an annualized minus 72%, the most negative among major tokens. Combined with sharply negative cumulative volume delta (CVD), the data points to a crowded short trade that could unwind sharply if sentiment shifts.

In contrast, Zcash (ZEC) showed resilience. Open interest climbed for a third straight day, surpassing 2 million tokens, while CVD remained strongly positive, driven by aggressive market buying. Funding rates hovered near 4%, suggesting positioning is not overheated. Despite a recent pullback, ZEC remains up 111% this quarter, with potential for further upside if broader conditions stabilize.

Elsewhere, tokens such as HYPE, CRO, and TON also recorded increases in open interest, while BTC and ETH positioning remained largely steady over the past 24 hours.

Across the broader market, selling pressure dominated. Excluding ZEC, TON, and HYPE, all other top 25 cryptocurrencies posted negative 24-hour CVDs, confirming that the downturn was driven by aggressive selling rather than passive flows.

Volatility indicators ticked higher. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index rose to 42% from 40% earlier in May, maintaining its inverse relationship with spot prices. Meanwhile, the MOVE index — a key gauge of U.S. Treasury volatility — jumped 14% on Friday, marking its largest single-day rise since late March and signaling heightened global financial stress.

Options markets suggest traders are positioning for larger moves. On Deribit, block trades were skewed toward BTC straddles, reflecting expectations of significant price swings in either direction and a view that current implied volatility may be underpriced.

Altcoins underperformed major cryptocurrencies, with assets such as BCH and Dogecoin dropping 10% and 4.5%, respectively, since the start of Monday trading. Weakness in memecoins weighed on broader benchmarks, with related indices posting the steepest losses.

Other crypto indices also declined, including DeFi and large-cap benchmarks, reflecting the broader risk-off sentiment.

Despite the downturn, a handful of tokens bucked the trend. Thorchain (RUNE) rose 3.8% as it recovered from last week’s exploit, while layer-1 token KAIA extended its gains, climbing 1.6% on the day and 3.5% over the past 24 hours. Trading activity in KAIA surged, with daily volume nearly tripling to $53 million.