Crypto sees over $1.7 billion liquidated in past day as Trump tariffs dampen 'overleveraged' bullish sentiment

The crypto market saw over $1 billion in long and short liquidations in the past 24 hours, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of upcoming tariffs on imported goods, which appeared to cause a broad sell-off in risk assets.

According to Coinglass data, over 450,000 traders were liquidated in the past day, with the total liquidation reaching $1.79 billion. Long liquidations totaled approximately $1.57 billion, while short liquidations accounted for $219 million.

Liquidations occur when a trader’s positions in a particular market are forcibly closed due to significant losses or insufficient margin to meet the maintenance requirements. The liquidation figures reported in our articles are based on publicly available data, which may significantly understate the true extent of market liquidations. In many cases, API limits and incomplete reporting practices result in only a fraction of actual liquidation activity being captured by data aggregators. This incomplete data can lead to an underestimation of market risk and volatility, ultimately distorting the overall picture.

“The market sell-off was triggered by the White House’s announcement on Saturday that it will impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China,” Min Jung, research analyst at Presto Research, told The Block. 

Trump’s plan to set 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, and 10% on Canadian energy and goods from China, is set to take effect Tuesday. Canada announced a 25% counter-tariff to take place the same day, while Mexico and China are also expected to respond similarly, with many dubbing the current situation a “trade war.”

“This reignited concerns over inflation, as additional tariffs could further pressure prices, weighing on risk assets, including crypto,” Jung said. Kronos Research CEO Hank Huang also said that investors now fear that the tariff policy-led inflation would compel the Federal Reserve to maintain high interest rates longer than anticipated. 

Bitcoin fell 7.5% in the past day to trade at $91,969, and ether lost 20.1% to $2,510, according to The Block’s crypto price page. The entire cryptocurrency market capitalization shrank 13.7% in the past 24 hours, now at $3.12 trillion, according to data from CoinGecko.

Other altcoins suffered sharper declines. Ripple XRP plunged 28.2% to $2.1, and Dogecoin lost 26.9% to trade at $0.23. The GMCI 30 Index, measuring the performance of the top 30 crypto, fell 24.3% in the past 24 hours.

“The continued lack of Fed stimulus (no QE) and high-interest rates have disproportionately impacted altcoins, leading to further underperformance,” said Rachael Lucas, crypto analyst at BTC Markets, adding that the high concentration of liquidations from long positions indicate that “overleveraged” bullish sentiment was being flushed out.

Analysts said that as macro fears continue to escalate, the positive sentiment in the crypto market, built up from Trump’s reelection, starts to waver. This is due to a lack of crypto-specific mentions from the U.S. President since his inauguration, said Jung of Presto.

“So far, the major crypto-related headline has been about digital asset stockpiles, with no concrete policy details emerging,” Jung said.

Further volatility in crypto is expected as Trump’s trade policies evolve, according to BTC Markets’ Lucas. “Any further escalation in tariffs or shifts in Federal Reserve policy will impact market sentiment.”