Bitcoin Crashes 12% as Trump’s China Tariff Threat Sparks $7B Crypto Liquidation
Crypto markets endured one of their sharpest sell-offs of the year on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods, reigniting fears of a renewed trade war. The news triggered a violent unwinding of leveraged positions across digital assets, wiping out more than $7 billion in market liquidations, according to CoinGlass.
Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled 12% over the past 24 hours, falling below $110,000 after trading near $117,000 earlier in the day. The sell-off accelerated late in the session following Trump’s Truth Social post outlining the tariff hike and new export controls on “critical software,” prompting an immediate $3,000 price drop.
Ethereum (ETH) and major altcoins fared even worse. ETH fell 16% below $3,700, while Solana (SOL), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) plunged between 20% and 30%. Tokens such as Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Aave (AAVE) dropped as much as 40%, marking one of the deepest market-wide corrections since the March 2020 Covid crash.
“This was a Covid-level nuke,” said trader Bob Loukas on X, calling the drop “the mother of shakeouts.”
Ram Ahluwalia, founder of Lumida Wealth, described it as a “brutal day,” attributing the decline to “overbought conditions” amplified by Trump’s trade comments. Meanwhile, trader Pentoshi labeled the event a “top-three all-time flush,” saying altcoins “fell as violently as during the Covid crash.”
“The altcoin complex got absolutely eviscerated,” said Zaheer Ebtikar, CIO of Split Capital, noting that valuations had reverted to levels not seen in over a year. “We’ve witnessed a full leverage reset and market dislocation.”
Friday’s collapse underscored the fragility of sentiment in digital asset markets, where macro headlines can swiftly unwind months of speculative build-up.
