Bitcoin News Today: Geopolitical Tremors Trigger $19B Crypto Earthquake as Altcoins Plunge into Chaos

The cryptocurrency market faced its largest liquidation event in history on October 11, 2025, as U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports triggered a $19 billion collapse in leveraged positions. Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL), plummeted amid cascading sell-offs, with ETH dropping to $3,787.92, XRP to $2.4369, and SOL to $184.26 . The broader altcoin market lost 20–40% of its value, with over 1.6 million traders liquidated within 24 hours .

Market participants and analysts emphasized the multi-stage stabilization process following such a crash. Zaheer Ebtikar, founder of Split Capital, outlined a typical post-crash sequence: initial "market bleeding" as liquidation orders drive prices lower, followed by a pause in market maker activity to address arbitrage opportunities between spot and futures markets. This phase, lasting several days, prevents immediate rebounds. Once data feeds and liquidity systems stabilize, large traders absorb sell orders to restore equilibrium. Finally, dealers unwind long positions acquired during the crash, a process slowed by reduced weekend liquidity .

The altcoin market, already weakened by leveraged cross-margin liquidations on centralized exchanges, faced additional pressure. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, attributed the sharp altcoin sell-off to automated collateral liquidations on CEXs, which intensified price declines . For example, XRP and SOL saw their market caps contract to $178.66 billion and $99.10 billion, respectively, as traders rushed to exit positions .

Despite the turmoil, experts urged investors to "buy the dip." Raoul Pal, a former Goldman Sachs executive, argued that long-term fundamentals remain intact, emphasizing the inevitability of a digital future and the need to focus on debt rollover dynamics. Miles Deutscher highlighted dollar-cost averaging into fundamentally strong projects like BNB and SOL, which showed resilience before the downturn . Institutional demand, meanwhile, remained robust, with ETF inflows totaling $40 billion in a single week .

The crash coincided with heightened U.S.-China trade tensions, which Trump's policies have increasingly inflamed. The tariff announcement exacerbated macroeconomic uncertainties, with oil prices falling below $60 and Treasury yields declining, compounding market volatility . However, some analysts, including 10x Research's Markus Thielen, viewed the chaos as an opportunity, noting deeply negative funding rates and structural shifts in Bitcoin's dominance .

Looking ahead, the market's recovery hinges on several factors. The Altcoin Season Index at 67 suggests altcoins could outperform Bitcoin once liquidity rotates back into the sector . Additionally, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for the broader crypto market hit 35.3, signaling oversold conditions historically linked to rebounds . Analysts like Merlijn The Trader highlighted that TOTAL3 (total crypto market cap excluding BTC and ETH) rebounded from $400 billion to $800 billion, indicating potential for a sustained recovery .

Geopolitical risks, particularly unresolved U.S.-China tensions, remain a wildcard. If trade disputes escalate further, market makers and investors could face prolonged uncertainty. However, the weekend's reduced liquidity and the absence of spot ETF trading are expected to slow the stabilization process, with dealers unwinding positions cautiously .

Sources:

[1] Coindesk (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/11/v-shaped-rally-or-gradual-reset-btc-eth-xrp-sol-face-slow-bottoming-process-after-usd16b-liquidation-shock)

[2] The Market Periodical (https://themarketperiodical.com/2025/10/11/experts-call-to-buy-the-crypto-market-dips-as-btc-eth-xrp-bnb-tanks-over-10-each/)

[3] Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/10/11/trump-surprise-triggers-huge-crypto-flash-crash-as-traders-brace-for-bitcoin-ethereum-xrp-bnb-and-solana-price-wipeout/)

[5] Invezz (https://invezz.com/news/2025/10/08/why-crypto-prices-are-sliding-today-btc-sinks-below-121k-xrp-crashes-4/)

[8] CoinPedia (https://coinpedia.org/news/crypto-liquidation-hits-19b-as-trumps-china-tariff-triggers-market-crash/)

[11] Tecronet (https://tecronet.com/altcoins-are-oversold-is-q4-2025-the-next-rotation-phase/)

[13] Gate (https://www.gate.com/news/detail/13623574)

[14] Crypto News (https://cryptonews.net/news/analytics/31693884/)