Market horror moment: Crypto leads the asset plunge

On January 30, global financial markets were once again shrouded in panic, and cryptocurrencies became the most vulnerable link in this storm. The latest data shows that Bitcoin plummeted 6% in a single day, breaking through the $80,000 integer mark and hitting its lowest level in two months. Ethereum fell even more tragicly, falling more than 7% in a single day, completely falling below the key support level of $2,800, setting a record for the largest single-day decline in recent times. Mainstream altcoins fell simultaneously, SOL fell below the $110 mark, BNB fell below $850, the market value of the entire cryptocurrency market evaporated by more than $300 billion in a single day, and the Fear & Greed Index fell to the "extreme panic" range below 25.

Along with cryptocurrencies is the risk asset camp. In the U.S. stock market, the Nasdaq 100 index continued its decline, expanding to 2.3%, the S&P 500 index fell more than 1.5%, and cryptocurrency concept stocks suffered a "group annihilation": the stock price of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest listed company in Bitcoin, continued to fall by 8%, and the company's market value has shrunk by more than 40% from its peak; Platform stocks such as COIN and HOOD fell by more than 5%, and the stock price of mining company MARA plummeted by 9% in a single day, and the entire crypto industry chain fell into a vicious circle of market value collapse. It is worth noting that traditional safe-haven assets have also experienced abnormal fluctuations, with spot gold plummeting 5% at one point, breaking through three full 100 marks in a row, and then staging a deep V reversal, and finally falling slightly by 0.2% to $5,406.96 per ounce, while spot silver rebounded 2.59% after falling 8% during the day, which reflects the market's extreme sensitivity to geopolitical risks.

Geopolitical fuse: The countdown to the military confrontation between the United States and Iran has begun

The core cause of the market crash is the sharp heating up of the situation in the Middle East. The U.S. Central Command officially confirmed on January 26 that the USS Abraham Lincoln nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group has sailed into the Middle East area of responsibility and is expected to be deployed to the Gulf of Oman or the northern waters of the Arabian Sea in the next few days. What is even more alarming is that the community has circulated that the aircraft carrier has entered a state of "turning off the lights and interrupting communications", combined with the past actions of the US military - before the attack on Iran in June 2025 and before the operation in Venezuela in January 2026 - this is interpreted as a clear precursor to the imminent launch of the attack operation.

The pressure on the U.S. military is escalating across the board. In addition to the USS Lincoln, the second aircraft carrier, the USS George Bush, set sail from the east coast of the United States on January 13, and it is widely judged that it will enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar and form a two-way attack with the USS Lincoln. Military analysis pointed out that after the dual aircraft carrier battle group is in place, the U.S. military's air supremacy, strike frequency and fault tolerance in the Middle East will peak, which means that real military operations may begin after the deployment of the Bush is completed. In terms of air power, the U.S. military has launched multi-day combat readiness exercises in more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and on the ground, additional "Patriot" and "THAAD" anti-missile systems have been deployed to strengthen protection against Israel, and the Israel Defense Forces have also comprehensively raised the alert level to respond to "attacks that the United States may launch in the next few days." Iran responded strongly, saying it was ready to deal with "any adventurous behavior of the enemy" and that a large number of drones it was equipped with were believed to pose a real threat to U.S. warships.

Internal and external troubles are superimposed: the U.S. government shutdown exacerbates market panic

To make matters worse, the domestic political crisis in the United States is fermenting simultaneously, further shaking market confidence. On January 31, the U.S. Temporary Appropriations Act will officially expire, and with only two working days left in Congress, the Senate procedural vote has failed, and a partial or complete government shutdown is almost a foregone conclusion. The core differences between the two parties focus on homeland security funding: the $9 billion welfare fraud case in Minnesota (82 defendants are Somali-Americans) caused controversy, Republicans demanded stronger immigration enforcement and full ICE funding, and Democrats demanded that ICE law enforcement deaths be cut and impose restrictions.

The shadow of the government shutdown resonates with geopolitical risks, causing investors' risk aversion to explode. Historical data shows that during the U.S. government shutdown, risk assets often face downward pressure on valuations, and the current superimposed war expectations have led to more intense panic selling in the market. For the cryptocurrency market, it is also facing deeper liquidity pressure: the Fed's interest rate cut in 2026 is expected to fail (Powell is likely to maintain the interest rate range of 3.5%-3.75% before leaving office), the disappearance of the core momentum that previously supported the bull market, and the continuous cash-out of giants such as Tesla (Musk has reduced his Bitcoin holdings by three-quarters), and the stampede effect caused by the withdrawal of institutional funds has further amplified the decline. What is more noteworthy is that the Trump administration once made a profit of more than $1 billion through the issuance of the meme coin $TRUMP, but the attention to the crypto market plummeted after the end of the dividend, which also caused the market to lose important policy expectation support.

Market Outlook: When will the bear market bottom?

At present, the market is under the triple pressure of "geopolitical risk + policy vacuum + liquidity tightening". At the military level, any turmoil in the confrontation between the United States and Iran may trigger a new round of sell-offs, and the "window period" after the completion of the deployment of the dual aircraft carriers requires a high degree of vigilance; At the political level, if the government shutdown, it will further weaken the market's confidence in the US economy; Cryptocurrencies themselves will need to go through an institutional liquidation cycle until Powell leaves office in May 2026 and expectations of a new round of interest rate cuts are expected to restart, which may usher in a trend reversal.

However, there are also structural opportunities hidden in the short-term panic. Some analysts believe that Bitcoin is close to the bottom of the valuation after this round of plunge, and long-term investors may be able to pay attention to the bottoming stage layout after the bottom. After the reversal of the deep V of precious metals such as gold, their safe-haven properties are still worth looking forward to. However, for ordinary investors, the core strategy is still to control positions, avoid highly volatile assets, and wait for the situation to become clear.

World peace has always been the cornerstone of global economic and financial market stability. How will the situation in the United States and Iran evolve? Can cryptocurrencies weather the double storm? Welcome to leave your views in the comment area, like and forward to let more people participate in the discussion, and you can also follow the author to get the latest market trends and in-depth analysis.

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