Israeli Airstrikes Spark $1B Crypto Sell-Off Amid Lebanon Conflict

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on June 14-17 killed at least four people and possibly as many as eight, according to reports. The strikes targeted residential buildings in southern Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut.

The timing of the airstrikes could not have been worse for markets. Just days earlier, the US and Iran had signed a memorandum of understanding designed to de-escalate the very kind of hostility that was now playing out in real time.

Bitcoin fell over 2% to roughly $63,000 following the strikes. Ethereum slipped below $1,700. And more than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated as traders scrambled to reduce exposure to what suddenly looked like a much riskier world.