Crypto today: Ether slump hits BitMine; OFAC sanctions; BTC slips
Today’s crypto market wrap: Ether’s steep decline has left BitMine Immersion Technologies with substantial unrealized losses, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned two UK-registered crypto exchanges linked to Iran’s financial system, and Bitcoin fell out of the world’s top 10 assets by market capitalization.
Ether slump leaves BitMine with billions in unrealized losses
BitMine Immersion Technologies, a publicly listed crypto treasury firm associated with investor Tom Lee, is sitting on more than $6 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether holdings following the latest round of market liquidations.
The losses deepened after BitMine purchased 40,302 Ether (ETH) last week, bringing its total to over 4.24 million ETH, according to data from Dropstab. At current prices, the company’s Ether holdings are valued at roughly $9.6 billion, down from a peak of about $13.9 billion in October.
Ether’s move toward $2,300 has been influenced by fragile liquidity, with market commentary from The Kobeissi Letter citing elevated leverage and crowded positioning as factors that intensified the sell-off.
U.S. Treasury sanctions Iran-linked crypto exchanges for first time
The United States Treasury has sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges connected to Iran’s financial system, the first instance of Washington directly targeting digital asset platforms under its Iran sanctions program.
In a statement on Friday, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the action is part of a broader effort against Iranian officials and networks accused of suppressing domestic dissent while using alternative financial channels to evade international sanctions.
Those designated include Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, identified as Iran’s minister of the interior, who oversees the country’s Law Enforcement Forces. “Treasury will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
OFAC also named Babak Morteza Zanjani, a prominent Iranian businessman previously convicted of embezzling billions of dollars in oil revenue from Iran’s national oil company. The Treasury said Zanjani was released from prison and later used by the Iranian state to move and launder funds, providing financial backing to projects associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Liquidations push Bitcoin out of world’s top 10 assets
Bitcoin’s reversal this week has dropped it outside the world’s 10 largest assets by market capitalization. Trading around $83,000 per coin, Bitcoin’s market value stands near $1.65 trillion, placing it 11th globally—just behind Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled oil producer, and below Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), according to market data trackers.
By comparison, gold has surged to the top position by a wide margin after a record-breaking rally, accompanied by a jump in gold futures activity, as highlighted in recent data from cryptocurrency exchange MEXC.
Bitcoin’s market capitalization nearly reached $2.5 trillion in October, when the price briefly topped $126,000. The latest decline was driven by approximately $1.6 billion in long liquidations, with prices sliding quickly to below $82,000 from near $90,000. The move has renewed concerns that the largest cryptocurrency could be entering the early stages of a prolonged bear market.
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