Leading cryptocurrencies fell sharply on Wednesday, while stocks rallied to record highs with no breakthrough in sight for a U.S.-Iran deal.

Bitcoin tumbled, coming close to sinking below $74,000, while Ethereum battled bears to defend the key $2,000 support. Selling pressure intensified for XRP and Dogecoin as well.

Over $450 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the past 24 hours, with $400 million in long position erased, according to Coinglass data.

Bitcoin’s open interest fell 0.89% over the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, both retail and whale derivatives traders turned bullish, aggressively building long positions in the leading cryptocurrency

“Extreme Fear” sentiment prevailed in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.49 trillion, down 1.89% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks extended their record-breaking run. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 182.60 points, or 0.36%, for a record close of 50,644.28 The S&P 500 closed 0.02% higher at 7,520.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.07% to close at 26,674.73. 

The U.S. military carries out new strikes overnight in Iran, targeting a military site and downing Iranian drones that threatened the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official.

This came hours after President Donald Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz will be “open to everybody” and “nobody’s going to control it.”

Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant highlighted a “structurally fragile setup” developing for Bitcoin, characterized by weak spot demand and bullish derivatives demand.

CryptoQuant noted an increase in Binance funding rates,indicating that traders are positioning long through leverage.

“From a market structure perspective, this often reflects late-stage speculative behavior: traders become optimistic after a recovery, long positioning increases, but actual capital participation fails to expand,” CryptoQuant added.

Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez noted that Ethereum’s Market Value to Realized Value ratio dropping below the 0.8 band, currently at $1,868, has rarely been sustained for long. 

These bands use statistical deviation from the Market Value to Realized Value ratio’s all-time average to identify potential market tops and bottoms. 

“History shows that this exact zone represents a high-probability macro accumulation window that builds the ultimate foundation for the next major bull market,” the analyst added.

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