The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn on what some are calling "Black Monday," triggered by renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China. A key catalyst was President Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese goods and new export controls, sparking a massive sell-off across the crypto space.
Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, saw its price decline by approximately 6.7%. While substantial, this drop demonstrated a degree of resilience compared to the steeper falls experienced by many altcoins. At the time of writing, ETH is trading around $3,815.18.
The broader crypto market witnessed a historic liquidation event, with over $19 billion wiped out as leveraged positions were closed. Coinglass data indicated that over 1.6 million traders were liquidated in a 24-hour period, with a significant portion occurring in a single hour. This market turmoil strained the systems of major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. Bitcoin also suffered, falling below $113,000.
Altcoins were particularly hard hit, with many experiencing double-digit percentage losses. This reinforces a trend where altcoins demonstrate greater volatility during market downturns compared to more established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. For example, on October 10th, several altcoins such as BNB, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin plunged by 11% to 21%.
Ethereum's relative strength during this downturn can be attributed to several factors. It has a large market capitalization of $461.22 billion. Also, it is the leading blockchain for decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Institutional interest in ETH has also been growing, with firms and ETFs holding over 12.48 million ETH, representing over 10% of the total supply. Inflows into ETH-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been substantial, with $1.3 billion in net inflows recorded between September 29 and October 3. This increasing institutional adoption provides a buffer against market volatility.
Despite the current market conditions, analysts remain optimistic about Ethereum's long-term prospects. Some predict that ETH's price could reach as high as $7,000 by the end of 2025. This is due to the possible approval of an Ethereum ETF in early 2026 and continued growth of the Ethereum network.
