A sudden thunderstorm shattered the once graceful dance of the Bitcoin kingdom under the sun. On the morning of this past Monday, the "gold" of the digital world suddenly lost its lustre, like a golden bull startled by lightning, plunging from its lofty perch at $75,000, a drop of 5.3%. What followed was the wail of the entire virtual land — the total market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies, like a sandcastle built on the shore, collapsed in an instant under the crashing waves, wiping out a staggering $1.3 trillion in wealth. This catastrophe wasn't triggered by technical flaws or platform failures, but by a real-world hurricane of tariffs.
Tariff policies dropped a bombshell on global markets, and investors, like field mice sensing a hawk, fled from risk assets, with the crypto market as the first station in this grand escape. Once thriving in the spring breeze due to Trump's election win. Optimistic regulatory outlook and continuous ETF inflows, the crypto world was suddenly shrouded in dark clouds. Ethereum, the "number two" in the crypto realm. Plunged to $1,418 — its lowest level since March 2023. Formerly high-flying *altcoin heroes" like XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin deflated like punctured balloons, each plummeting more than 15% in just 24 hours. This "crypto stock market crash" was not an isolated event, but part of a broader earthquake across the landscape of risk assets. U.S. stock index futures and Asian stock markets sank together, while gold and
the yen — the so-called safe havens — surged like rising tide walls, becoming the shelters for panicked capital on the run.
Amid this financial storm, about $868 million in long crypto positions were liquidated — as if, overnight, gamblers were evicted from the casino. It was the most brutal wave of forced liquidations since February. Those who once confidently leveraged up and bet on price increases - from grassroots retail traders to financial tycoons — were all forced to confront reality, abandon fantasy, and admit the drop was real. Even more worrying, activity in the options market added fuel to the fire of this storm. The $70,000 strike price became the most heavily wagered bearish line of defence, indicating widespread preparation for the next wave of turmoil and rapidly rising concerns over further downside. Many had fantasised that cryptocurrencies would serve as a new world's gold, immune to the turmoil of traditional markets.
But this plunge once again revealed the truth: Bitcoin and the Nasdaq-100 remain conjoined twins, rising and falling in sync. Bitcom, the weathervane of the digital age, finds itself unable to hold its umbrella steady in the gales of real-world policy.
Bitcoin was dragged back to its $72,000 stable, like a wild horse that had run too far only to be reined in. The previous gains now seem more like a case of overheated enthusiasm. This storm not only swept away the crypto world's bubbles but also redrew the lines of public concern over policy, inflation, supply chains, and the overall stability of the global economy. The tariff banner raised by Trump acts like a spear that pierces global nerves of risk, adding frost to the already uncertain mood of the market. Corporate profits are under pressure, supply chains face challenges, and the ties of globalisation are being forcibly tightened. Even cryptocurrencies, once seen as the "money of the future.
"must now confront a harsh reality: amad Intensifying geopolitical rivalries, they too are not immune.
In short, this crypto market crash isn't just about numbers diving — it's about the extinguishing of faith. Bitcoin has been pulled down from its pedestal, gold once again dons the king's cloak, and investors, like startled birds, are now searching for the next safe harbour amid chaotic information and a climate of fear. The crypto world never lacks for stories, and this time, it tells a fable about how a policy storm burst the virtual bubble.
