![\"Bitcoin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769893388_897_image.png\"\/)
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Bitcoin falls below $78,000 (CoinDesk data) <\/p>\n
Risk sentiment took a hit after reports of an explosion<\/a> at Iran\u2019s Bandar Abbas port, a key shipping hub on the Strait of Hormuz that handles roughly a fifth of the world\u2019s seaborne oil. <\/p>\n Further reigniting tensions in the region, Trump has now republished on Truth Social a post saying that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a military branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, is in \u201cfull panic mode.\u201d The post is accompanied by a video showing chaos in the streets of Tehran.<\/p>\n The incident added to already elevated tensions between Tehran and Washington, nudging investors away from riskier assets.<\/p>\n “This looks like a broad-based sell-off. We have an event risk over the weekend with an aircraft carrier battle fleet sitting off of Iran. Trump is sabre rattling, which isn’t helping,\u201d Russell Thompson, Chief Investment Officer at Hilbert Group told CoinDesk.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn’t BTC specific, but BTC is obviously a high delta product, so the move has been much higher and more volatile in BTC,\u201d Thompson added.<\/p>\n ‘Mechanical failure’<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Chris Soriano, co-founder & CCO of BridgePort, attributed the swift declines to thin orderbooks.<\/p>\n “The current drop is a classic case of ‘Phantom Liquidity’ meeting forced deleveraging,” he said. <\/p>\n “On the surface, the market looks healthy because spreads are incredibly tight (~0.0011 bps on major BTC\/USDT venues). But that tightness is masking a lack of real depth. We are seeing top-of-book liquidity sitting at just ~$500k on key venues. In plain English: The ‘door’ looks wide open (tight spreads), but there is no floor behind it (thin depth).”<\/p>\n “When a wave of forced selling hits a book that shallow, the bids evaporate instantly, and price gaps down rather than drifting down. This isn’t a fundamental repricing; it’s a mechanical failure of liquidity to absorb flow,” Soriano added.<\/p>\n Political uncertainty in the U.S. also weighed on markets. A brief federal government shutdown began over the weekend<\/a> after Congress failed to pass a full-year funding bill ahead of a midnight deadline. While expected to be short-lived, the lapse added to a growing list of macro concerns that have kept traders cautious.<\/p>\n $75,000 to watch?<\/p>\n Crypto-specific factors compounded the selling pressure. <\/p>\n Bitcoin has struggled to attract sustained buying interest after a volatile January, with flows into spot bitcoin ETFs turning negative this week<\/a> and derivatives markets still unwinding leverage built up late last year. The backdrop has left price action choppy and prone to selloffs during quieter trading hours.<\/p>\n