Crypto market took a beating on Tuesday with certain top tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana and others crashing as much as 28 per cent in the last 24 hours. Tokens was under severe selling pressure as the crypto market experienced a massive liquidation and Trump's tariff war.
Some reports suggested that the crypto market underwent $120 million worth of assets liquidated in just 60 minutes, indicating heightened volatility and potential bearish sentiment in the market, impacting trading strategies as traders may need to reconsider their risk management approaches.
All the gains BTC and crypto made one day before were washed out entirely, causing more than 1 billion dollars worth of liquidations as ETH and other crypto are falling sharply as well, said CoinSwitch Markets Desk. "However, this is not the only market which is acting brutal towards its investors - with Trump confirming tariffs on China and Mexico," it said.
Trump's confirmation of tariffs on Canada and Mexico triggered a pullback in the crypto markets and the broader market also experienced some profit-taking as economic uncertainty increased, said Alankar Saxena, Co-founder and CTO at Mudrex, suggesting investors to remain cautious amid the volatility as bears remained active in the markets.
According to the data from Coinmarketcap, Cardano led the loser's pack as the altcoin was crushed more than 28 per cent to $0.7685 over its 24-hour high at $1.07. Its total market capitalization dropped $28 billion, while the volumes saw a hit of 30 per cent. Solana plunged more than 21 per cent to $134.02 from its high at $170.13. Mcap slipped below $70 billion, while volumes took a hit of 24 per cent in the last 24 hours.
The downmove was accentuated by the liquidation of the leveraged longs that had entered the market post the Sunday announcement by President Trump, said Pankaj Balani, CEO and Co-founder at Delta Exchange. Over $1 billion in long positions were liquidated yesterday. For crypto there are two opposing forces at play currently, he said.
Ripple's native token XRP cracked nearly 21 per cent to $2.23 on Tuesday , with its total valuation slipping below the $130 mark. Its one-fourth volumes were wiped out in the last 24 hours. Elon Musk-backed Dogecoin dropped 18 per cent to $0.1876 in the early hours, with a mcap slipping below $30 billion. Its trading volumes saw a decline of 21 per cent, as per Coinmarketcap data.
Largest and oldest crypto token Bitcoin plunged about 12 per cent to $82,467.24 from its previous day's high at $93,664.05. The total market valuations of Bitcoin was down $1.6 trillion but its volumes were up 14 per cent. Its biggest peer Ethereum was down over 18 per cent to $2,004.21 from $2,453.65. Mcap barely held the $250 billion mark, while volumes eased 9 per cent in the last 24-hours.
According to the data, the total global crypto marketcap stood at $2.75 trillion, indicating a 11.20 per cent decrease over the last day. The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $185.32 billion, signaling a 1.55 per cent fall in the 24 hour period. Bitcoin's dominance is currently 60.17 per cent, up 0.46 per cent over the previous day.
The recent drop in Bitcoin and other crypto prices seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to the impending tariff decision by the US on China, Mexico, and Canada. Similar reactions have been observed in other financial markets as well due to this decision, said Raj Karkara, COO at ZebPay. "However, it is important to note that short-term volatility provides opportunities too, not just risks," he said.
On the one hand the market is looking forward to the White House crypto summit this Friday where more positive announcements are expected; while on the other hand concerns of a tariff war are weighing heavily on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. We expect the market to remain choppy and volatile through the weeks it looks to find a direction, Balani added.
On the contrary, crypto tokens hit above the roof on Monday after the US President Donald Trump announced a US Crypto Reserve which were likely to include altcoins like Cardano, Ripple and Solana, beside the larger tokens- Bitcoin and Ethereum. These stocks had zoomed up to 75 per cent in the previous session.
The crypto market experienced extreme volatility following former President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US Crypto Strategic Reserve, initially driving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major tokens higher, said Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO at Pi42.
"Ongoing crypto fund outflows as another factor weighing on prices, reflecting cautious investor sentiment. While the idea of a government-backed crypto reserve stirred optimism, market reactions highlighted the sector’s sensitivity to policy shifts and the need for clearer regulatory frameworks," he said.