"$9.4 billion liquidated in the past 24 hours"…Altcoin market replays '2021 crash nightmare'

The crypto asset (cryptocurrency) market plunged in the wake of President Trump's announcement of tariffs on China, with about $9.4 billion (about 13.3 trillion won) worth of positions liquidated over the past 24 hours. The broad decline across altcoins left investors in shock, saying "the 2021-style nightmare has been replayed."

On the 11th (local time), crypto-focused media CryptoSlate reported that a total of $9.4 billion in positions were forcibly liquidated in the past 24 hours. Of these, more than $6.0 billion were closed in just one hour. Bitcoin (BTC) plunged about 12% in a day, and altcoin losses far exceeded that.

The direct cause of this plunge has been pointed to as President Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports. As global risk assets broadly fell and investors moved to cash out and prefer safe-haven assets, a 'risk-off (Risk-off)' phenomenon spread across the crypto asset market.

In the market, the incident was described as "reminiscent of the 2021 altcoin collapse." Analyst Scott Melker (Scott Melker), known as 'The Wolf of All Streets,' analyzed that "it is likely that major market makers have collapsed, and some exchanges may already be partially insolvent."

Meanwhile, gold prices hit an all-time high on the same day. Given that major investment banks have assessed Bitcoin alongside gold as a 'store of value,' some say this plunge has refocused skepticism about Bitcoin's safe-haven status.

The outlet added, "Some argue that while the scale of this liquidation is the largest ever, the felt shock is relatively muted compared to 2021," and "this incident is an example of how vulnerable the market can be when excessive leverage and geopolitical risk combine."