Former SEC chair Gary Gensler and what President Trump called the “anti-crypto army” nearly drove the American crypto industry offshore by pushing Bitcoin, crypto perpetuals, and innovation out of the country — but “Trump saved it,” the president wrote 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 that while the United States currently holds the position as the crypto capital of the world, other countries are working to supplant it — and “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 might have spurred a market rally. Instead, in an already brutal bear market, prices fell further. Major cryptocurrencies dropped nearly 3% overall, erasing more than $80 billion in market value.
Over the past 24 hours, roughly 165,000 traders were liquidated, with total liquidations of about $928 million — 93% of which were long positions, according to Coinglass.
Bitcoin fell 3.2% to $72,800, its lowest level since mid-April. The coin has lost about 8% over the past two weeks and appears to be moving back toward the $60,000 range.
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
Ethereum slipped below the key $2,000 level as well, dropping more than 4.4% to $1,975 — its lowest price since late March. Altcoins were broadly lower as bearish sentiment deepened and an exodus from riskier crypto assets continued.
“Retail has erupted with ‘buy the dip’ calls toward ETH as a result of this drop below a key psychological support level,” Santiment reported. “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 also felt pressure from geopolitical developments after the United States launched a new wave of military strikes on Iran late Wednesday.
According to Reuters, strikes targeted an Iranian military site and U.S. forces shot down four Iranian drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz.
“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” an official told the outlet. Iran, in turn, retaliated by attacking a U.S. base in Kuwait.