On Friday morning, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant decline due to a combination of multiple factors.

First, geopolitical tensions rapidly escalated. President Trump completely denied any room for negotiations with Iran and declared that "unconditional surrender is the only option," which triggered a reaction in the oil market. WTI crude oil rose to approximately $90 per barrel, the highest in years, with an increase of 11%.

This surge in crude oil prices spilled over into risk assets overall. Nasdaq futures fell by 1.8%, and Bitcoin also sold off in tandem. The latest price was around $72,970, up 1.44% over 24 hours, but during the morning decline, it dropped about 5%. One reason for the cryptocurrency decline is this risk-off sentiment.

Adding to this, U.S. economic indicators dealt a further blow. February employment data unexpectedly worsened, losing 92,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose from 4.3% to 4.4%. According to economists, when looking at the cumulative data from May 2025 to February 2026, a total of 19,000 jobs have actually been lost. It highlighted that companies are holding back on hiring.

Even with these weak economic data, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to aggressively cut interest rates. Inflation still exceeds the 2% target, and the sharp rise in oil prices risks worsening inflation outlooks. Interest rate traders see only a 4% chance of a rate cut in March and just 17% in April. The uncertainty about future interest rates is contributing to the decline of risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Within this environment, issues with individual projects also surfaced. The Trump-related crypto venture World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token has hit a new low. Its current price is around $0.08, down 7.45% over 24 hours.

The problem is that the company has borrowed stablecoins using its governance tokens as collateral, thereby squeezing liquidity on DeFi platforms. If WLFI’s price drops, the borrowing capacity decreases, and the value of the collateral also diminishes. This could restrict withdrawals for existing depositors. Some critics point out that this structure deepens the cycle risk.

Ultimately, the reasons for the cryptocurrency decline on this day are a complex interplay of rising crude oil prices due to geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty from worsening employment data, and governance issues within individual projects. Both macro and micro factors continue to foster a cautious market environment.