Crypto Market Experiences $300M in Liquidations as Trump’s Tariff Threats Wipe Out Late Investors

Traders in cryptocurrency anticipating a consistent upward trend for Bitcoin received a wake-up call regarding headline risk due to the recent tariff threats made by Donald Trump.

Recent data from CoinGlass indicates that more than $300 million in leveraged derivative trades were liquidated across major exchanges within just four hours, as the prices of cryptocurrencies saw a significant drop following these developments.

The bulk of these liquidations were tied to long positions, where traders were betting on price increases. Specifically, Bitcoin long positions accounted for $107 million, with Ethereum’s ether close behind at around $87 million. Liquidations of other tokens, such as Solana’s SOL, dogecoin, and SUI, ranged from $10 million to $18 million each.

A notable crypto trader, Skew, remarked on social media that the aggregate liquidations were a clear indication of rapid de-risking and selling driven primarily by news headlines.

This market downturn coincided with Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on EU imports starting next month and a 25% tariff on non-U.S. manufactured iPhones, reigniting concerns over a potential trade war escalation.

Consequently, Bitcoin and other significant altcoins like Ether, XRP, and Cardano experienced declines of 3% to 4%, while smaller-cap tokens like Uniswap and SUI plummeted between 5% and 7% in the last 24 hours.

A trader known as James Wynn, who had recently attracted attention for initiating a $1.1 billion Bitcoin long position with 40x leverage on the Hyperliquid exchange, found himself facing substantial unrealized losses of $7.5 million, with the risk of liquidation if Bitcoin drops to $102,000, as indicated by a screenshot shared online.

Interestingly, the trend of long liquidations occurred even as there was an unusual shift towards short positions in Bitcoin derivatives, despite recent record price levels.