Bitcoin Nears $67K as $520M in Leverage Flushes, BlackRock Eyes $9T Money Move

Crypto News

More than $520 million in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out over the past 24 hours, with long bets accounting for $320 million, or 63.15% of the total, against $182.8 million in shorts. The cascade of forced selling underscores how stretched leverage had become as Bitcoin traded near $67,000. Leveraged traders, including those running automated AI trading bot strategies, faced rapid margin calls as prices swung. Derivatives data shows the liquidation balance tilted heavily toward bulls, a sign that traders positioned for continuation were caught offside when momentum reversed. Such clustered liquidations typically mark elevated volatility rather than a clean directional break.

BlackRock chief investment officer Rick Rieder argued the cross-asset rally that followed the US-Iran peace agreement may only be getting started, pointing to $8 trillion to $9 trillion parked in money market funds that has begun rotating into risk assets. He described the current backdrop as the most compelling capital-markets environment in decades. US equities reflected the shift, with the S&P 500 climbing nearly 2% intraday and the Nasdaq 100 advancing more than 3%, while Bitcoin pushed toward $67,000. Rieder framed the move not as a short-term bounce but as the early stage of idle cash migrating out of safe-haven instruments and into equities and other higher-beta exposures.

Crude oil slumped to a three-month low after Washington and Tehran agreed to halt hostilities and enter follow-up negotiations. Brent settled at $83.20 a barrel, down 4.9%, while WTI fell 4.8% to $80.75 — the weakest levels since March 10. The two sides electronically signed a memorandum of understanding ahead of the announcement, with a formal ceremony set for June 19 in Geneva and a 60-day window to finalize a nuclear deal and full sanctions relief. The Strait of Hormuz will reopen toll-free for 60 days, though analysts caution that shipping, insurance and freight flows will take months to normalize fully.

Offshore driller Seadrill priced $700 million of senior notes due 2034, upsizing the offering from an initial $600 million after stronger-than-expected demand. The notes, issued at par through subsidiary Seadrill Finance under Rule 144A and Regulation S, carry a 6.750% coupon and mature July 15, 2034, with closing slated for June 30. According to the company's official disclosure, proceeds will fully redeem its 8.375% senior secured second-lien notes due 2030, with the remainder covering fees and general corporate purposes. Swapping higher-cost debt for cheaper long-dated paper is expected to ease interest expense, framing the deal as balance-sheet repair rather than fresh expansion.

The financing backdrop is also shifting in Washington. Rieder expects new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, presiding over this week's FOMC meeting, to lean on balance-sheet and money-supply tools to steer long-term rates rather than additional hikes, arguing inflation in healthcare, insurance and education is not rate-sensitive. Corporate issuers are seizing the moment, with Nvidia preparing a $25 billion bond sale that echoes the surge in deal flow Rieder cited. Investor appetite is equally visible in passive vehicles, as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF became the first exchange-traded fund to cross $1 trillion in assets, even as benchmarks pushed toward all-time-high territory.

The liquidation data points to concentrated pain across major assets and venues. Bitcoin positions led with roughly $215.71 million erased, followed by Ether at about $208.96 million and Solana near $27.66 million. Binance accounted for the largest four-hour share at $24 million, or 48.46%, with longs making up nearly two-thirds, while OKX saw $5.87 million unwound. On Hyperliquid, short liquidations dominated at 68.68%. Smaller altcoin tokens were not spared, with ZEB and HYPE recording $23.76 million and $16.43 million in liquidations respectively — a reminder that thinner markets often amplify volatility when leverage unwinds across the broader complex.

Taken together, these threads sketch a market caught between macro optimism and crypto-specific fragility. While BlackRock sees trillions rotating into risk assets and an easing Middle East pulls oil lower, COINOTAG's aggregate data tells a more cautious story: the Fear & Greed Index sits at 20, deep in Extreme Fear, and the $520 million liquidation flush confirms leverage is unwinding rather than building. Bitcoin dominance at 69.7% signals capital is huddling in Bitcoin over alternatives, and total crypto market capitalization stands near $1.92 trillion. Until risk appetite broadens beyond equities, the gap between Wall Street's reflation thesis and crypto's bear-market psychology is likely to persist.