Crypto Plummets! 🤯 Trump’s Tariffs to Blame?

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Right, so, the crypto market had a bit of a wobble on Friday. A wobble, you say? That’s like calling a supernova a “minor brightening.” It was, in fact, the biggest single-day wipeout in its, shall we say, *brief* history.

Over 1.6 million traders found themselves suddenly…less wealthy, to the tune of a rather alarming $19 billion. And why? Apparently, it all stemmed from Donald Trump deciding to slap a 100% tariff on China. Honestly, the geopolitical landscape is quite exhausting, isn’t it? It’s always something.🌍

Bitcoin, which, just days ago, was enjoying a bit of an ego boost above $125,000, decided to take a rather dramatic tumble. By Saturday morning, it was looking a bit sheepish below $113,000. On some exchanges, it briefly flirted with $102K before deciding to gather itself. Such drama. 🎭

Trump’s Tariff Bomb Shakes Markets

Trump’s announcement decided to resurrect the US-China trade war, because why not? It affected pretty much everything that people gamble on – stocks, oil, and, of course, crypto, all turned a rather depressing shade of red. The Nasdaq took a 3.6% hit, and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones weren’t feeling much better.

But it was the crypto traders, bless their leveraged little hearts, who really felt the burn. As prices started their descent, the exchanges gleefully started liquidating positions. It’s a bit like watching dominoes fall, only each domino represents someone’s life savings.😬

Coinglass tells us $19.13 billion vanished. Although, given that Binance seems to only report one liquidation *per second* (slow, guys, slow!), the actual number is probably higher. One has to wonder about the efficiency of it all.

Within a single hour on Friday, a staggering $7 billion simply blinked out of existence. The largest casualty? A poor soul at Hyperliquid who lost $203 million in one Ethereum trade. Ouch. The global crypto market cap shrunk from $4.2 trillion to $3.8 trillion, and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index understandably went from “Greed” to “Fear.” A quick shift in mood, to be sure.

“Black Swan” Moment for Crypto

“This was a black swan event,” declared David Jeong of Tread.fi. I assume he meant it was rare and impactful, not that an actual swan was involved. Many institutions, apparently, “did not expect this level of volatility.” Well, that’s just brilliant planning, isn’t it? 🤷‍♀️

Vincent Liu of Kronos Research helpfully pointed out that it was “sparked by US-China tariff fears but fueled by institutional over-leverage.” Which is to say, people were borrowing a lot of money to buy things that were already a bit…risky.

Meanwhile, Brian Strugats from Multicoin Capital ominously warned about “contagion” risks. Contagion. It sounds like something out of a disaster movie.🍿

Bitcoin’s Key Level to Watch

The experts are all saying Bitcoin’s next key support level is at $100,000. Anything below that, warned Caroline Mauron of Orbit Markets, “would signal the end of the past three-year bull cycle.” Oh dear.

But, naturally, there’s always someone trying to spin a positive. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, cheerfully suggested that the crash was a “buying opportunity.” He even congratulated the “stink bidders” – apparently a good thing in the crypto world. Who knew?

Word on the street is that big CEX’s auto liquidation of collateral tied to cross margined positions is why lots of alts got smoked on the move down. Congrats to all you stink bidders. We won’t be seeing those levels any time soon on many high quality alts.

– Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 11, 2025

So, there it is. Billions gone, markets shaken, and everyone holding their breath. Will Bitcoin hold the line, or is this just the beginning of a proper, old-fashioned crypto winter? Only time will tell. And I, for one, will be watching from a safe distance with a cup of tea.

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2025-10-11 08:53