[Update] Crypto Traders Hit Hard as Market Reacts to US-China Tariff War

Updated on Feb. 4, 2025 at 2:28pm:

• Bitcoin (BTC) and Nasdaq futures declined during Asia trading as China imposed retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
• Beijing introduced a 15% duty on U.S. coal and LNG, a 10% tax on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine cars, while launching an antitrust probe into Google.
• BTC briefly recovered from $92,000 to over $102,000 due to a U.S. tariff pause on Mexico and Canada but fell to $98,500 following China’s latest actions. (Source)

Traders faced a $560 million (₱32.6 billion) liquidation bloodbath over 24 hours as Bitcoin surged 7.6%, fueled by Trump’s tariff pause and rumors of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund eyeing crypto.

Quick Take delivers key facts fast—concise, clear, and easy to read. Perfect for busy readers.

Key details:

• $560M liquidated — 53% were bearish bets (shorts), a rare dominance.
• Bitcoin reclaimed $101,000; Ethereum and Solana soared 15%+ after Trump halted Canada tariffs.
• $38.78M BTC short on HTX was the largest single liquidation.

The numbers:

• Liquidations breakdown (24h):
  • Shorts: $298.94M (53% of total).
  • Longs: $261.35M.
• Top assets liquidated:
  • BTC: $80.75M (Shorts at $77.18M)
  • ETH: $66.26M (Shorts at $79.09M)
  • SOL: $10.14M
• Exchanges hit hardest (4h):
  • Binance: $12.05M.
  • Bybit: $5.09M.
  • HTX: $962K.

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The triple catalysts:

1. Trump’s reversal on Canada/Mexico tariffs eased inflation fears.
2. Trump’s executive order to create a U.S. wealth fund sparked speculation it could hold Bitcoin.
3. Projects like AI16Z (+22%) rebounded, squeezing pessimistic traders.

Between the lines:

• Bears betting on prolonged trade war chaos were caught off-guard. ETH shorts lost $79M as prices snapped back.
• Eric Trump’s “great time to buy ETH” post coincided with a $60M Ethereum transfer to Coinbase by a Trump-linked DeFi project.

What to watch next:

• Markets will dissect the U.S. Treasury/Commerce Department’s plans for potential crypto exposure.

This article is published on BitPinas: Quick Take: Crypto Shorts Get “Rekt” as Market Roars Back on Tariff Truce

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