The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a significant sell-off, impacting Bitcoin and altcoins. The downturn, which began on Friday, October 10, 2025, has led to substantial liquidations and market volatility.
The primary catalyst for this market plunge appears to be renewed trade tensions between the United States and China. Specifically, former U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports sent shockwaves through the crypto market. This move, seen as a response to China's restrictions on rare earth minerals, essential for technology and manufacturing, triggered an immediate negative reaction across financial markets. The S&P 500 Index fell, and cryptocurrencies tumbled.
The impact on Bitcoin was significant. Bitcoin's price fell over 12% intraday, dropping from approximately $122,000 to around $113,600 on Friday evening. In the depths of the panic, Bitcoin briefly dipped under $102,000 on some exchanges before quickly bouncing back above $110,000. By midday Oct. 11, Bitcoin steadied around $111,500, still down about 8% from 24 hours prior. This collapse wiped out over $5.3 billion in Bitcoin long positions alone. Ethereum (ETH) experienced an even sharper percentage drop, plunging from above $4,300 to roughly $3,373 at its lowest point during the sell-off, a nearly 18% intraday crash. It later recovered to about $3,780 (down 12–13% on the day) once volatility subsided. Ethereum's market cap slid under $460B. CoinGlass data shows about $4.4 billion in ETH longs were liquidated in the rout, almost as much pain as Bitcoin traders saw.
Altcoins suffered even more dramatic losses. The rapid price declines triggered a chain reaction of auto-deleveraging, amplified by trading algorithms and bots. As prices fell, more long positions were liquidated, pushing prices down further in a negative feedback loop. Over $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out. Roughly 16.7 of the $19.1 billion were longs (bullish bets) being force-closed, indicating most traders were caught overly optimistic and unhedged. In total, about 1.6 million trading accounts got liquidated as exchanges automatically sold off their collateral.
Despite the severe downturn, some analysts remain optimistic about the long-term prospects of Bitcoin and the crypto market. Bitcoin remains in a longer-term uptrend and is still up significantly year-to-date. "BTC remains above its 200-day moving average, so the bull market structure is intact". Some experts suggest that the dip could be a buying opportunity for institutional investors. Bitcoin briefly recovered to around $107,485 before reclaiming the $114,000 mark. Analysts believe the swift rebound was likely driven by automated buy orders and strong spot demand near the $105K–$107K range, a zone considered short-term technical support.
The crypto market's sensitivity to macroeconomic events and policy announcements is evident in this crash. A single policy threat from a political leader can instantly reshape global sentiment, underscoring crypto's sensitivity to macro shocks. The excessive borrowing amplified the crash’s scale, a reminder that leverage can magnify both gains and losses.
Predicting when the sell-off will end is difficult. Bitcoin selling and price weakness are likely to extend until CME BTC and equities futures markets open on Sunday evening, US hours. The market needs to hold above $110,000 to avoid renewed selling pressure. A break below $100K, a key psychological level, could trigger another wave of long liquidations. However, several altcoins have reclaimed key support levels, indicating the possibility of a bullish reversal in the coming days.
