**Why the Market Dropped Today 📉**
Several key factors contributed to today's market decline:
1. **Geopolitical Tensions: Israel-Iran Conflict Escalates**
- Israel's airstrikes on Iran heightened Middle East instability, triggering a risk-off sentiment across financial markets.
- Crypto assets saw sharp declines, with Bitcoin down ~5% and Ethereum ~10% intraday.
- U.S. stock futures fell ~1.5–1.8%, while safe havens like gold and oil rallied.
2. **Macroeconomic & Regulatory Concerns**
- Persistent inflation data reinforced expectations that the Fed will delay rate cuts, dampening investor confidence.
- Rising U.S.-China trade tensions and potential new tariffs added to global economic uncertainty.
3. **Options Expiry & Leveraged Liquidations**
- Over $3.7B in BTC/ETH options expired today, amplifying market volatility.
- Crypto liquidations exceeded $1.2B in 24 hours, with long positions bearing the brunt.
4. **Technical Correction & Profit-Taking**
- Bitcoin faced resistance near $111K (upper Bollinger Band), leading to a pullback.
- Indicators like MACD and RSI signaled overbought conditions, suggesting a short-term consolidation phase.