U.S. President Donald Trump’s late Friday announcement of a potential 50% tariff on all European Union imports and a 25% tax on imported Apple iPhones triggered a sharp market downturn.
In the last 24 hours, bullish crypto positions suffered losses exceeding $500 million as traders rapidly booked profits and liquidations surged amid growing concerns over escalating trade tensions.
Bitcoin, which had been trading above $111,000, swiftly dropped to around $108,600, erasing its intraday gains and shaking overall market confidence.
This decline in BTC was reflected across the broader crypto market. Futures linked to Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded liquidation losses ranging from $30 million to over $100 million.
Specifically, Bitcoin futures faced roughly $181 million in liquidations, Ether futures contributed nearly $142 million, and other altcoins combined for about $100 million in forced position closures, with SOL, DOGE, and XRP among the hardest hit.
According to CoinGlass data, the largest single liquidation occurred in a $9.53 million BTC-USDT swap on OKX.
Liquidations happen when exchanges forcibly close leveraged positions that fail to meet margin requirements, often signaling periods of heightened market stress. Such large-scale liquidations can mark turning points, hinting at a possible price reversal triggered by an overreaction in trader sentiment.
This pullback emerged just as Bitcoin was building momentum, driven by ETF inflows and growing institutional demand, which had many expecting a relatively quiet weekend.
However, renewed trade war fears have reintroduced volatility, destabilizing the macroeconomic backdrop. As a result, traders are likely to approach next week’s sessions with increased caution.
