As we mentioned before, US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 100% customs duty on Chinese imports created a sharp sales wave in global markets. After the post on Truth Social, risk appetite decreased rapidly and billions of dollars of liquidations occurred in the crypto market in the Asian session. According to CoinGlass data, while a $19.1 billion position was liquidated in just 24 hours, $16.7 billion of this consisted of long positions.
Uncertainty in US Data Deepened the Crisis
Bitcoin 
$111,822.89 While it briefly hit $102,000, it recovered to $113,294 in the middle of the day. Ether rose to $3,844. Despite this, the CoinDesk 20 Index declined by 12.1%. Total crypto market cap dropped to $3.87 trillion. This sharp sell-off marked a liquidation 10 times larger in dollar terms than the collapse of FTX in 2022 or the sales during the pandemic.
Trade war concerns, which came to the fore again with Trump’s statements, grew even more with the impact of the government shutdown in the USA. Economic data that could not be explained due to the closure made it difficult for investors to find direction. The Ethena team announced that despite the fluctuation in the market, the printing and redemption operations of the USDe stablecoin continued smoothly, and collateral rates were maintained with the profits from short positions.
On the other hand, the late reporting of liquidation data by major exchanges such as Binance has increased suspicions that the total liquidation amount may be higher than announced. This triggered panic selling by investors, causing a chain decline.
Similar Effects Reflected on European and Asian Stock Exchanges
Trump’s trade move shook not only crypto but also Asian and European stock markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 3% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.8%. Nasdaq futures also turned red on the same day. This chart showed that investors moved into global risk-aversion mode.
On the crypto side, analysts state that this decline may not mean a long-term trend change. Some market commentators argue that the current correction may be a short-term “cooling off,” recalling that crypto has experienced rapid recoveries following similar political statements in the past.
As a result, Trump’s statements once again revealed how sensitive crypto markets are to global political risks. However, this also shows that the market is in the process of maturation. The lack of interest from institutional investors and the stability in the stablecoin market suggest that the possibility of a recovery is strong. The crypto market continues to show resilience despite the uncertainty.
