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Crypto assets plunge on fears of a US-EU tariff war…Bitcoin down more than 3% as massive long liquidations hit
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Summary
- Amid fears of an all-out tariff war between the United States and the European Union (EU), Bitcoin fell about 3%, with major altcoins also declining in tandem.
- In derivatives markets, more than $750 million—mainly in long positions—was forcibly liquidated over the past four hours, sharply dampening investor sentiment.
- Rachel Lucas said regulatory uncertainty, a break below the 50-week moving average, and $4.4 billion in outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs could push Bitcoin down further to the $67,000–$74,000 range.
Crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) markets underwent a sharp correction as worries resurfaced over renewed trade tensions between the United States and the European Union (EU).
According to The Block on the 19th (local time), Bitcoin (BTC) fell from $95,500 to $92,474 within just a few hours at around 5 p.m. Sunday Eastern time, sliding about 3%. Major altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) also moved broadly in line with Bitcoin’s decline over the same period.
The selloff was accompanied by large-scale forced liquidations in derivatives markets. Data from CoinGlass showed that more than $750 million in positions—primarily long positions—were liquidated over the past four hours. Market participants say the possibility of an all-out tariff confrontation between the US and the EU acted as a direct catalyst, sharply undermining risk appetite.
The US-EU dispute was sparked by remarks from US President Donald Trump. Trump warned that if Denmark does not sell Greenland to the United States, he would impose 10% tariffs from Feb. 1 on eight European North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies including Denmark, and raise them to 25% by June. European leaders strongly pushed back, calling it “blackmail,” and the EU is reportedly preparing retaliatory measures.
Still, some in the market argue the plunge cannot be explained solely by geopolitical issues. Presto Research said, “While it’s true that concerns over a US-EU trade war have had the biggest impact on sentiment, other risk assets are holding up relatively well,” adding, “This shows that crypto-specific weakness is still persisting.”
Rachel Lucas, a BTC market analyst, also pointed to the lack of progress in the US Senate on a market-structure bill for crypto assets as another headwind. “After Coinbase withdrew its support for the bill, regulatory uncertainty came back into focus,” she said, adding that “Bitcoin has traded sideways for an extended period since forming a peak in October last year, with profit-taking pressure building up.” In particular, a break below the 50-week moving average triggered algorithmic selling, and $4.4 billion in outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs in November–December last year also reinforced the risk-off mood, she added.
Lucas said that if these macro pressures persist, it cannot be ruled out that Bitcoin could fall further into the $67,000–$74,000 range. However, she stressed, “It’s hard to view this as a full-blown crypto winter like in the past. The industry’s overall maturity and the regulatory environment have clearly improved compared with before.”
