The shooting war between the US and Iran just went from simmering to boiling, and global markets are reacting exactly the way you’d expect. Asian equities tumbled, oil prices spiked, and crypto got dragged down with everything else.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.8% as trading floors across the region absorbed the news of fresh military strikes. South Korea’s KOSPI took the hardest hit, plunging more than 3% in a single session, with tech and semiconductor stocks bearing the brunt of the selloff.

Oil prices jump on supply disruption fears

Brent crude surged as much as 2.6%, trading in a range between $79 and $93 per barrel.

The Strait of Hormuz, where this conflict has been centered since the downing of an American helicopter in February 2026, is not some obscure waterway. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through it on any given day.

President Donald Trump has made public statements about both ongoing strikes and potential negotiations, which is a combination that tends to keep traders on edge rather than calm them down.

Crypto takes a hit alongside traditional markets

Crypto markets experienced between $300 million and $350 million in liquidations as traders scrambled to de-risk their positions. Bitcoin prices dipped to levels between $66,300 and $77,000. Ethereum followed the same downward trajectory.

These weren’t positions that unwound over days of gradual decline. They were wiped out in response to breaking news, which underscores how tightly crypto markets are now wired into the same information flows that move equities and commodities.

The broader picture for investors

The conflict traces back to February 2026, when an American helicopter was downed in the Strait of Hormuz. What followed has been a series of escalations, fragile ceasefires, and diplomatic overtures that never quite stuck.

South Korea’s outsized market reaction, with the KOSPI falling more than 3%, makes sense when you consider the country’s deep dependence on energy imports and its concentration of export-oriented tech companies.

For crypto investors specifically, the lesson from this episode is uncomfortable but important. During a genuine geopolitical crisis, correlations between crypto and traditional risk assets tend to spike toward one. Anyone positioned with leverage during a sudden escalation is playing a dangerous game, as $350 million in liquidations just demonstrated.