Iran's Fars news agency claimed two missiles hit a U.S. warship. Oil spiked 5%. Bitcoin dropped $1,500 in minutes — from $80,594 to $79,000. ETH, SOL, DOGE all dumped.
Then the U.S. denied it. Everything recovered.
This is the fifth time in 2026 that a geopolitical headline has flash-crashed crypto. The pattern is consistent: unconfirmed report → instant selloff → denial → bounce. Traders aren't waiting for verification — they're selling first and asking questions later.
The silver lining: recovery speed is improving. Markets bounced back faster this time than previous geopolitical dumps. Liquidity is deepening.