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Trump’s tariff threats and bond market sell-off pressures triggered a massive risk aversion in the global cryptocurrency markets on January 21. Major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano collectively declined, with Bitcoin briefly falling below $90,000. Over $1 billion in positions were liquidated within 24 hours. This not only reflects market volatility but also indicates a sharp shift in market risk appetite.

Major cryptocurrencies decline collectively, high-beta assets lead the fall

According to the latest data, the decline in the cryptocurrency market is highly differentiated:

Ethereum experienced the deepest decline, dropping 6.5% in 24 hours and falling below the $3000 threshold. More notably, high-beta tokens like Solana and Cardano declined over 12% and 15% respectively over seven days, far exceeding their short-term drops. This indicates that during market panic, these more volatile assets are among the first to be sold off by investors.

Dual shocks: geopolitical risks and bond sell-off

The triggers for this decline are clearly visible:

• Escalation of geopolitical tensions: Trump announced a 10% tariff increase on several European countries, applying pressure over Greenland issues. European stock markets opened sharply lower, with the STOXX Europe 50 down 1.7%, and Germany’s DAX down 1.3%.
• Bond market sell-off: U.S. and Japanese bond markets experienced significant selling pressure, with yields soaring, prompting investors to seek safer assets.
• Gold and silver rally: In stark contrast to cryptocurrencies, gold and silver hit record highs, fully confirming the flow of safe-haven funds.

These two forces combined directly dampened demand for high-risk assets like cryptocurrencies.

Leverage liquidations trigger chain reactions

The falling price of Bitcoin, as a market indicator, triggered a chain of leveraged position liquidations. Data shows that over $1.09 billion worth of crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with 92% being long positions. This means a large number of bullish leveraged trades were forcibly closed as prices declined, further intensifying the downward movement.

This cascade of liquidations is especially dangerous in low-volatility environments. According to related reports, the implied volatility of Bitcoin and Ethereum has decreased by 18-25 points over the past two months, indicating that the market’s prior risk pricing was significantly insufficient. When sudden shocks occur, market tolerance drops sharply.

Market sentiment shifts to defensive

Interestingly, this sell-off also reflects a change in market participants’ mindset. Reports indicate that traders are shifting from chasing breakout trades to adopting range-bound strategies. Some institutional investors are increasing holdings of spot assets while continuously selling call options to collect premiums. This “income-enhancement” strategy is more suitable for the current low-volatility environment.

Overall, the market is entering a more defensive phase. Investors are closely watching the policy developments following Trump’s participation in the Davos Forum and the potential impact of the Federal Reserve personnel changes (with former Fed Governor Kevin Woor becoming a hot candidate for the next chair).

Summary

The core of this crypto crash is a rapid shift in risk appetite. Trump’s tariff threats and bond market sell-off pressures have pushed safe-haven funds into gold, USD, and other traditional safe assets, while cryptocurrencies, due to their high volatility and leverage concentration, have become the primary targets of sell-offs. Although the liquidation scale of over $1 billion is not the largest in history, it reflects the current market’s fragility to sudden shocks.

In the short term, the crypto market awaits signals of geopolitical risk easing or bond market stabilization. Traders should exercise caution in managing positions and leverage risks, especially in environments where volatility is suppressed, as even small shocks can trigger significant fluctuations.