Altcoins and Bitcoin Crash After Donald Trump Pledged to Save Crypto

Crypto markets have tanked to their lowest levels in six weeks after the US President said he saved it.

Former SEC chair Gary Gensler and the “anti-crypto army” nearly destroyed the American crypto industry by driving Bitcoin, crypto perpetuals, and innovation offshore, but “Trump saved it,” the president said on Truth Social on Wednesday.

“America is now the crypto capital of the world, and builders and entrepreneurs are coming back to the United States where they belong,” he added.

“Under my leadership, we will codify a future-proof digital asset market structure that cannot be undone by the crypto haters. The new frontier of finance is being built in America, and Trump will never let crypto down!”

In a separate post, he said, “where we are currently the crypto capital of the world, other countries are trying diligently to replace us in that capacity, but we won’t let that happen. It is a major industry, and we must protect it.”

BTC at Six-week Low, ETH Under $2K

Under normal market conditions, such comments from a world leader would have caused markets to bounce.

But this is a brutal bear market, and they did the opposite, tanking almost 3% with more than $80 billion wiped out.

Over the past 24 hours, around 165,000 traders were liquidated, with total liquidations coming in at $928 million, 93% of which were long positions, according to Coinglass.

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Bitcoin tanked 3.2%, falling to $72,800, its lowest level since mid-April. The asset has now lost 8% over the past fortnight and is heading back into the $60,000 zone.

BREAKING: Bitcoin dumped -$1600 and dropped below $73,000 in the last 60 MINUTES.

Over $480 MILLION longs in were liquidated. pic.twitter.com/cfZajGkauN

— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) May 28, 2026

Meanwhile, Ethereum dumped below the psychological $2,000 level, falling more than 4.4% to $1,975, its lowest level since the end of March. The altcoins were a sea of red, and the crypto exodus continued as the bear market deepened.

“Retail has erupted with ‘buy the dip’ calls toward ETH as a result of this drop below a key psychological support level,” reported Santiment.

“This typically means the price may have a bit further to fall, due to the crowd (which usually gets calls wrong) being too optimistic.”

US Strikes on Iran Resume

Markets were further pressured when the US launched a fresh wave of military strikes on Iran late on Wednesday.

Strikes targeted ‌an Iranian military site while the US shot down four Iranian drones, which posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

“These actions were measured, ‌purely ⁠defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” an official told the outlet. Meanwhile, Iran retaliated by attacking a US base in Kuwait.