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A flash crash triggered by rising U.S.-China trade tensions resulted in $19 billion in liquidated cryptocurrency positions on Friday. This marked the most significant single-day purge of leveraged bets in cryptocurrency history. Summary $19B in crypto positions liquidated after Trump’s hostile US-China remarks. Bitcoin fell 16% to $104K before rebounding; 1.6M traders wiped out in hours. Altcoins hit harder: LTC -51%, TON -41%, DOGE -39% before partial recovery. According to Santiment, President Trump’s posts on Truth Social are to blame. Trump accused Beijing of becoming “very hostile” and threatened massive tariff increases on Chinese goods in retaliation for export controls on rare earth metals. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped from approximately $124,000 to briefly touch $104,100 in a matter of hours before rebounding to $113,000. As of the last check on Sunday, Bitcoin was trading just below $112,000, down over 9% in the past week. Source: CoinGecko The selloff intensified about six hours after Trump’s initial post, with over 1.6 million estimated traders affected. Of the $19 billion liquidated, approximately $16.6 billion came from long positions, while only $2.4 billion represented short position liquidations. Altcoins experience severe market dislocations While Bitcoin’s 12% temporary price drop led the headlines, altcoins faced more severe drawdowns during the crash. Over the course of less than an hour, liquidations swept through leveraged positions, with percentage moves far exceeding Bitcoin’s decline: Litecoin (LTC), -51% Toncoin (TON), -41% Dogecoin (DOGE), -39% Source: Santiment When forced liquidations begin, the relatively minor order books for altcoins compared to Bitcoin mean that price impacts are magnified as positions unwind. Santiment’s analysis noted that discussions related to U.S.-China tariff concerns spiked after the crash, with retail traders quickly reaching consensus about attributing the flush to geopolitical events. Retail sentiment shifts to bearish expectations For the first time in October, Santiment data showed…

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Filed under: News - @ October 12, 2025 1:25 pm