Nearly $1B in Crypto Liquidations as Trump-Musk Feud Triggers Market Rout
A heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter) triggered a sharp sell-off in crypto markets late Wednesday, wiping out nearly $1 billion in leveraged long positions and erasing recent gains across major tokens.
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dipped below $101,000 before staging a modest recovery. Altcoins took a heavier hit, with DOGE and ADA both plunging more than 6% over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 Index, tracking the largest digital assets, fell over 5%.
According to data from CoinGlass, total liquidations reached $988 million — $888 million of which were long positions — highlighting a widespread washout among bullish traders.
Exchanges most impacted included Bybit and Binance, with Bybit alone seeing $354 million in liquidations. Bitcoin led the tally with $342 million liquidated, followed by Ethereum (ETH) at $286 million.
Other major altcoins also suffered significant unwinding:
- Solana (SOL): $51 million
- Dogecoin (DOGE): $27 million
- XRP: $23 million
- 1000PEPE and other memecoins: Added volatility amid high-leverage blowups
Liquidations occur when leveraged positions are forcibly closed due to margin shortfalls, often during sharp price swings. Such cascading events can accelerate volatility and often mark local tops or bottoms in sentiment-driven markets.
The sell-off was catalyzed by a high-profile online feud in which Trump accused Musk of “losing it” and hinted at revoking federal contracts. Musk retaliated by alluding to Trump’s potential ties to Jeffrey Epstein, reigniting political controversy and unsettling investors.
The clash derailed what had been a steady bullish trend in crypto markets, fueling an aggressive wave of profit-taking and risk-off behavior heading into the weekend.
