The crypto market slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will impose a 100% tariff on China beginning Nov. 1 or earlier, citing Beijing's " aggressive position " on trade.
"Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A."
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BTC fell quickly, with prints around $114,800; ETH slid toward $3,897.
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Total market cap dropped 4.6% to $3.93 trillion.
Related: Market reels after Trump's 100% China tariffs
Crypto liquidations set records within hours
Within an hour of the announcement, more than $7.5 billion in positions were liquidated ($6.22 billion longs, $1.29B shorts).
Over 24 hours, liquidations climbed past $19B, wiping out positions for roughly 1.4 million, which is 1.67 million traders, led by BTC , ETH , SOL and XRP .
One of the largest single liquidations was $87.53 million on HTX's BTC/USDT pair.
Related: Over $19 billion liquidated in worst crypto crash since COVID
Major exchanges enter emergency mode
The cascade sent major platforms into emergency mode :
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Binance acknowledged severe system strain and later said services were restored and " progressively returning to normal ."
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Coinbase reported latency/degraded performance before confirming a fix.
In a separate statement , Binance co-founder Yi He said the exchange would compensate eligible users impacted by technical issues:
"If you have incurred losses attributable to Binance, please contact our customer service to register your case," adding, "When we fall short, we take responsibility - there are no excuses."
Related: Binance to compensate users after technical snag during $19B market crash
Whale reportedly bagged $160M shorting ahead of the move
On-chain watcher @mlmabc flagged a trader on Hyperliquid who shorted BTC and ETH into the drop, closing and marking profits totaling over $160 million within a day.
"And this was just publicly on Hyperliquid imagine what he did on CEXs or elsewhere. I'm pretty sure this guy played a huge role in what happened today."
Related: Whale bags $160M by shorting ahead of Trump's China tariff
Calls for probes and a widening data gap debate
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek urged regulators to examine exchanges with the largest liquidations and review " fairness of practices, " including whether platforms halted operations, mispriced assets, or maintained AML standards.
He also questioned internal " Chinese walls " separating sensitive functions: " $20 billion in liquidations, a lot of users got hurt. "
Meanwhile, analysts challenged official tallies: Kelly Kellam argued the wipeout was " much bigger than reported ," writing,
"Could be in the $300B–$400B range! Even if it's half the low side of that → $150 BILLION… Did the 'trustless – transparent' narrative just get destroyed?"
Automated account @aixbt_agent alleged undercounting tied to Binance API throttling: " Binance API throttling captured 5% of actual liquidations during the crash. Coinglass estimates $300–400B liquidated versus $19–40B reported. "
Related: Crypto analyst warns market crash wiped out $400B
Rare bright spot: one crypto stock pops
Amid double-digit declines across crypto-linked equities, Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) jumped 16.6% after unveiling an AI authentication pilot, standing out as a rare gainer while peers from COIN to MARA and mining names sold off.
Related: Crypto stock emerges as rare winner amid market crash
Crypto trader found dead amid market crash
In Ukraine, police opened an investigation under Article 115, Part 1 after crypto trader Konstantin Galich (aka Kostya Kudo) was found dead in a car in Kyiv's Obolonskyi district on Oct. 11.
Authorities are treating it as a possible suicide; a registered firearm was found at the scene. His Telegram channel posted :
"Konstantin Kudo tragically passed away. The cause is being determined. We will update you on any further news."
Related: Crypto trader dies by suicide amid market crash
Relief rally after Trump says 'Don't worry about China' (Oct. 12)
Market sentiment slightly improved when Trump posted :
"Don't worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn't want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!! President DJT"
By Sunday, crypto markets had largely stabilized.
Related: Trump says 'don't worry about China,' markets rally
As of Monday, Oct. 13, the markets are looking steadier. BTC is trading near $114,702 (+2.6%), ETH at $4,125 (+7.6%) with SOL $193.62, XRP $2.58 and DOGE $0.2076 also higher.
At the time of writing, the global crypto market cap sits at $3.995T (+3.7% 24h) with $291.2B in volume as major exchanges operated normally.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Business News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
