Historic Crypto Market Meltdown Wipes Out $19 Billion in 24 Hours as Trump’s China Tariff Triggers Market Crash

The cryptocurrency market experienced its most devastating single-day crash on record on Friday, erasing over $19 billion in value within just 24 hours.

Data from Coinglass revealed that more than 1.6 million traders were liquidated as panic swept through global markets.

The massive sell-off was reportedly triggered by President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new 100% tariff on China, coupled with fresh export restrictions that sent shockwaves across global financial systems.

The announcement reignited the US-China trade war, hitting global risk assets across the board. Stocks, oil, and crypto all went red. The Nasdaq fell 3.6%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones also posted their biggest drops in months.

Investor sentiment turned sharply negative, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index plunging to 35 firmly in “fear” territory and the average crypto Relative Strength Index (RSI) slipping to an oversold level of 25.97.

At the heart of the turmoil, Bitcoin faced unprecedented selling pressure. Having recently reached a new all-time high above $126,000, Bitcoin’s price nosedived  crashing to around $101,725 price, before managing a modest rebound to $112,145, as at writing this report.

CoinGlass data showed that a staggering $19.31 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out within a single day. Bitcoin accounted for the largest share with $5.36 billion in losses. Bitcoin’s four-hour RSI dropped to levels unseen since the early stages of the trade war in February, signaling extreme oversold conditions. Traders who had heavily leveraged on the bullish rally suffered historic losses, with long positions forming the majority of liquidations.

Ethereum (ETH) followed closely with $4.42 billion. The largest single liquidation occurred on the Hyperliquid exchange, where an ETH-USDT position worth $203 million was forcibly closed. The liquidation frenzy marked the biggest leverage flush in crypto history, with over 1.66 million traderscompletely wiped out.

As automated liquidation systems kicked in, panic spread rapidly, accelerating the downward spiral.

The crash extended beyond Bitcoin, hitting altcoins even harder. Solana, XRP, and meme tokens such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu suffered declines ranging from 16% to 40%, as retail traders raced to exit the market. Analysts had previously warned that the altcoin market was overstretched and vulnerable to sudden shocks.

Adding to the market anxiety, the U.S. government shutdown, now entering its tenth day, has led to a data blackout as official economic indicators remain suspended amid political gridlock in Congress. Despite this, independent data sources continue to reflect the extent of the financial turmoil.

The sell-off also destabilized the USDe stablecoin, which temporarily lost its dollar peg as institutions offloaded assets to cover margin calls. This de-pegging intensified the chaos across leveraged trading platforms, triggering additional waves of forced liquidations.

Despite the carnage, several market analysts remain cautiously optimistic about the long-term outlook. They point to expanding global liquidity and sustained inflows into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as signs of underlying strength.

Analysts say Bitcoin’s next key support sits at $100,000. Falling below that, said Caroline Mauron of Orbit Markets, “would signal the end of the past three-year bull cycle.”

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, hinted that the crash may have created rare buying opportunities. “Congrats to all you stink bidders,” he wrote. “We won’t be seeing those levels any time soon on many high-quality alts.”

Future Outlook

For now, Bitcoin’s ability to hold above the $110,000 threshold is seen as the key level to watch. Should it maintain that support, experts believe bullish momentum could soon return to the market.