Cryptocurrencies declined again amid escalating threats and conflicts involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

At the time of writing, major cryptocurrencies experienced significant losses. Bitcoin fell more than 3%, dropping to around $68,100, while Ethereum declined over 4%.

Data from CoinGlass shows that over the past 24 hours, more than 200,000 traders globally faced liquidations, with total liquidations amounting to $555 million.

Since the end of February, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, Bitcoin had briefly surged past the $75,000 mark. By March 23, it had corrected by nearly 10%. Why has Bitcoin, contrary to expectations during geopolitical tensions, faced a sharp decline instead of being sought after?

Experts analyze that multiple factors are at play. A researcher from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Executive Chairman of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Standardization Association pointed out that in emergencies, some individuals need to sell Bitcoin to obtain fiat currency for purchasing air tickets or daily necessities. Rising oil prices have also prompted some groups to sell assets to secure liquidity. More critically, high leverage in the derivatives market triggered a "death spiral"—once selling begins, price drops force the liquidation of highly leveraged positions, further intensifying sell-off pressure.

A Professor and Director of the Fintech Law Institute at China University of Political Science and Law commented that "these price movements are difficult to interpret as a traditional 'safe-haven asset' and resemble a typical 'deleveraging of risk assets.'" This refers to forced liquidations of high-leverage positions, liquidity stratification leading to a stampede, and capital flowing back into cash or short-term bonds. The founder of Carbon Chain Value offered a more direct assessment: "It has revealed its true nature as a high-Beta global liquidity asset."