More than 1.66 million crypto traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours amid a sharp market crash. According to CoinGlass, the total amount of losses reached $19.33 billion.
The sharp decline began after Donald Trump confirmed plans to impose 100% tariffs on imports from China. This increased macroeconomic uncertainty and hit all risk assets.
BTC and ETH Led the Selloff: $16.8 Billion in Long Losses
The main blow was to long positions — they were liquidated for $16.83 billion. For comparison, short losses amounted to $2.49 billion.
Most liquidations were in Bitcoin ($5.38 billion) and Ethereum ($4.43 billion). Next on the list are Solana ($2.01 billion) and XRP ($708 million).
The largest losing trade happened on the Hyperliquid exchange — it was an ETH-USDT position for $203.36 million. In total, assets worth more than $10.3 billion were liquidated on exchanges.
Analysts call this crash one of the toughest forced liquidations of the year. It once again showed how unstable and volatile the crypto market remains.
Total crypto market capitalization fell by 9% in a day, dropping to $3.8 trillion — the decline affected almost all major assets.
Also read: 5 alarming signs the US is sliding into recession
Bitcoin plunged from above $122,000 on Friday morning to $113,600, completely erasing gains since August. In the evening, the price briefly dipped even below $102,000.
The market started to tumble after Donald Trump‘s statements about a possible “massive tariff hike” on Chinese goods. This was in response to new restrictions from China on exports of products containing more than 0.1% rare earth elements.
Later, Trump confirmed plans to impose 100% tariffs, but hinted he might reconsider if Beijing changes its position before November 1.
According to analysts, lifting the tariffs could trigger a short-term rebound in the crypto market, but the liquidation losses have already been realized.
Meanwhile, one major whale on Hyperliquid reportedly opened a nine-figure short in BTC and ETH. According to on-chain analyst @mlmabc, the trader may have made about $190 million — and may have been the catalyst for Friday’s crash.
Trump’s Approval Rating Hits New Low Amid Shutdown
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that only 40% of Americans approve of Donald Trump‘s actions, 58% — are against. All this comes amid criticism of him for excessive police crackdowns.
Another poll by HarrisX showed a slightly softer picture — 46% approval. But both figures indicate a strong divide in society.
Ratings collapsed amid the prolonged shutdown. Congress failed to approve the budget by October 1, and now the government is operating at half capacity. Trump blamed the Democrats and promised to target their programs in new budget amendments.
Also read: G7 banks unite to launch stablecoins backed by major world currencies
On the Polymarket platform, 86% of participants are confident the shutdown won’t end before October 15. The market is betting that Washington won’t reach a deal again.
Another pressure factor — related to crypto. Despite digital asset support being a key point in Trump’s campaign, it is now raising more and more questions.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is already speaking openly about it — she’s concerned that crypto could become a way for the incumbent president to enrich himself.
