Trump's sudden tariff announcement shakes virtual asset market… Global market cap of $500 billion evaporates

U.S. President Trump's unexpected announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports shocked markets overall, causing virtual assets (cryptocurrency) prices to plunge. Major coins fell in unison, spreading fear.

According to Forbes on the 11th, when President Trump abruptly announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, Bitcoin fell $12,000 in one day and traded below $107,000 intraday. This was more than a 15% drop from the weekly high of $126,000. Major altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Binance Coin (BNB), and Solana (SOL) also fell, wiping out about $500 billion in market capitalization (about 716 trillion won).

Sean Dawson, head of research at on-chain options platform Derive.xyz, said, "In one hour, about $7 billion worth of positions were liquidated worldwide, of which $5.5 billion were long positions." He added, "The total liquidation over the past 24 hours was $9.6 billion, the largest single-day liquidation on record."

Markus Thielen, an analyst at 10x Research, wrote in an investor note, "Trump's sudden tariff announcement triggered market volatility again, pushing Bitcoin down to the low $100,000s," and "forced liquidations exceeded $8 billion, and altcoins recorded declines several times larger than Bitcoin."

Meanwhile, 10x Research said, "Bitcoin dominance (market share) exceeded 60% and short-term volatility surpassed 50%, and the market has entered a new structural phase," adding, "such turmoil can be both a risk and an opportunity."