The crypto market experienced a major crash starting on October 10, 2025, triggered around 4 PM CST (5 PM EST) by a high-impact event: U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1st. This announcement heightened trade tensions and ignited risk-off sentiment in the markets, causing a sharp sell-off in cryptocurrencies. Key facts about what happened:
- The entire crypto market plummeted in a flash crash, with Bitcoin dropping about 5-7% initially, falling from around $122,456 to lows near $105,000, and altcoins like Ethereum, XRP, and Binance Coin seeing steeper losses of 10-15% or more.
- This triggered massive liquidations of leveraged positions, with estimates of over $19 billion wiped out within 24 hours, a liquidation scale surpassing previous historic events like the FTX collapse or the COVID crash.
- Bitcoin and many other cryptos saw a cascade of margin calls, panic selling, and a plunge in liquidity, making the crash severe within just hours.
- Despite the brutal downturn and liquidation wave, institutional investors are reportedly quietly accumulating at these lower levels.
- The crash was heavily influenced by macroeconomic factors, including escalating geopolitical trade tensions, fears about inflation and Federal Reserve policy, and thin weekend liquidity that amplified price moves.
The market has shown some attempts at stabilization but remains volatile as traders and investors digest the combined shock of Trump’s tariff announcement and the resulting liquidity drain in crypto markets.
