On October 10, crypto markets plunged as President Trump threatened 100 percent tariffs on China. Investors feared an escalation in the U.S.-China trade war. Stock markets fell, crypto prices dropped, and trillions were lost. The S&P 500 lost $2.5 trillion, while crypto saw the largest liquidation in history, nine times the previous record.
Whales and Leverage Drive Chaos
The selloff started at 9:30 AM ET, before Trump’s first tariff post at 10:57 AM ET. Many large traders, or “whales,” were already opening short positions. At 4:30 PM ET and 4:49 PM ET, a whale purchased over $23 million in shorts.
Longs were liquidated at a 7:1 ratio to shorts. Over 80 percent of the 1.6 million liquidated traders were leveraged long. Shorts were sold into the 5:20 PM ET bottom, forcing a sharp V-shaped rebound.
The intense volume produced the first-ever $20,000 Bitcoin candlestick and caused a $380 billion drop in market capitalization before recovery.
A Misunderstanding Between Trump and Xi
The crash was driven by a misinterpretation of China’s rare earth export rules announced on October 9. The rules were not a full ban; companies meeting regulations could still export.
Trump interpreted this as a complete halt and threatened tariffs. China initially criticized the U.S. but later clarified the rules were limited.
Trump reassured the public saying, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it.”
This shows the panic was caused by miscommunication, not policy.
Crypto Recovery and Capital Return
The crypto market is showing signs of recovery, with total market capitalization rising to $3.82 trillion, up 1.75 percent. Since the bottom at 5:30 PM ET, over $550 billion has returned to crypto.
Bitcoin trades above $115,000, gaining over 3 percent in the last 24 hours, while Ethereum has climbed to $4,171, up nearly 9 percent. Other altcoins like BNB, XRP, and Solana are also seeing strong gains.
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