On Saturday, Bitcoin<\/strong><\/a> sank as much as 8.4\u00a0%<\/strong> to around $104,782<\/strong> after former U.S. president Donald\u00a0Trump<\/strong> unleashed a volley of trade threats against China. In a series of posts on his social\u2011media platform Truth\u00a0Social, Trump vowed to slap 100\u00a0% tariffs<\/strong> on Chinese technology exports and to impose export controls on critical software<\/strong>, accusing Beijing of using its monopoly over rare\u2011earth minerals<\/strong> to gain economic leverage. These comments came amid renewed friction between Washington and Beijing over trade, chips and national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tougher stance rattled global markets. In equities, the S&P 500 Index<\/strong> fell more than 2 %<\/strong> on Friday. In cryptocurrencies, the sell\u2011off was severe. Market data show that more than 1.6 million traders<\/strong> were liquidated over a 24\u2011hour period as stop\u2011loss orders were triggered en masse, and roughly $7 billion<\/strong> in leveraged positions were wiped out within an hour. Brian Strugats<\/strong>, head trader at Multicoin Capital, warned that total liquidations could exceed $30 billion<\/strong>, raising the risk of counter\u2011party defaults and contagion into other asset classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bitcoin\u2019s plunge dragged the wider market lower. Ethereum<\/a><\/strong> slid about 5.8\u00a0%<\/strong> to near $3,637<\/strong>, Binance\u00a0Coin<\/a><\/strong> shed 6.6\u00a0%<\/strong> to around $1,094<\/strong>, and XRP<\/strong> dropped a hefty 22.85\u00a0%<\/strong>, cutting its market capitalisation by more than 16\u00a0%<\/strong>. Stablecoin Tether<\/a><\/strong> edged down 0.1\u00a0%<\/strong> but held its dollar peg. The declines came even as the broader crypto market had been gathering momentum: according to CoinGecko\u2019s market dashboard, the global crypto market cap<\/strong> stands near $3.995\u00a0trillion<\/strong> and 24\u2011hour volume around $269\u00a0billion<\/strong>. Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to dominate market share, commanding roughly 57.3\u00a0%<\/strong> and 12.5\u00a0%<\/strong> of capitalization respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the carnage, some analysts remain constructive. Edul Patel<\/strong>, co\u2011founder of Indian exchange Mudrex, noted that Bitcoin briefly dipped to roughly $102,000<\/strong> before recovering above $113,000<\/strong>. He pointed out that October pullbacks often precede relief rallies, sometimes producing rebounds of up to 21 %<\/strong> as sidelined capital flows back into crypto. Patel suggested that ongoing U.S. regulatory developments \u2014 including anticipated approval of spot altcoin exchange\u2011traded funds (ETFs) \u2014 and capital rotation out of gold could provide fresh liquidity. For long\u2011term investors, he sees the sell\u2011off as a buying opportunity in blue\u2011chip assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saturday\u2019s price crash underscores digital assets\u2019 sensitivity to geopolitical news. Unlike previous crypto\u2011specific shocks (such as exchange failures or hacks), this sell\u2011off was catalysed by macro\u2011economic headlines. It highlights how the asset class is maturing and becoming entwined with broader financial markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBroad\u2011based crypto sell\u2011off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Context and outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n