It was a Black Friday for cryptocurrency investors, not in the retail sense, but in a brutal market rout that saw over $19 billion in leveraged positions vanish in a single day. The digital asset landscape, typically a volatile terrain, experienced its most significant single-day meltdown on record, sending Bitcoin and Ethereum tumbling and leaving millions of traders reeling.
The earthquake struck on October 10, 2025, after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a staggering 100% tariff on all Chinese imports, effective November 1. This aggressive move, reportedly in retaliation for China’s new policy on rare earth mineral export controls, reignited fears of a full-blown global trade war. The announcement sent shockwaves through traditional financial markets, but the crypto sphere bore the brunt, with panic selling leading to an unprecedented wave of liquidations.
The Unraveling: Billions Lost, Markets in Flux
Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, which had just days prior traded above $125,000, plunged dramatically, briefly touching lows below $102,000 on some exchanges before stabilizing around $113,000 – still down approximately 8% for the day. Ethereum (ETH) suffered an even more stomach-churning decline, with a peak-to-trough drop of 21%, falling from around $4,390 to below $3,500. According to CoinGlass, a data tracker, the event resulted in a record-breaking $19.1 billion in liquidations within 24 hours, far surpassing previous crises like the March 2020 COVID crash or the FTX collapse in 2022.
The vast majority of these losses, around $16.7 billion, came from ‘long’ positions, indicating that traders betting on a market rise were caught off guard. In total, approximately 1.6 million trading accounts were wiped out.
Adding to the chaos, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, faced widespread user complaints about frozen accounts and failed stop-loss orders. Critics argue that these outages exacerbated the crash’s impact, amplifying losses for many.
India’s Crypto Regulations
Indian investors face a steep 30% gains tax and strict enforcement actions. The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) recently ordered 25 offshore exchanges to block access for Indian users and register under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), contributing to a reported 40% decline in liquidity on domestic platforms. This dual challenge of global volatility and domestic regulatory tightening means Indian traders are navigating an especially tricky landscape.
Indian crypto market, which boasts an estimated 119 million users and leads global adoption metrics, was undoubtedly impacted by the global contagion.
What Lies Ahead?
The immediate outlook remains uncertain, as geopolitical tensions between the US and China continue to simmer. This historic liquidation event underscores crypto’s profound sensitivity to macro shocks and the magnified risks of excessive leverage.
That said, some analysts see glimmers of hope. Bitcoin managed to hold key support levels, bouncing back from its lows, and Ethereum similarly maintained critical thresholds. The purging of massive leverage could, in the long run, reset the market for a more sustainable uptrend. Institutional investors, known for their long-term perspective, are reportedly eyeing the dip as a buying opportunity, suggesting that the broader bull run for digital assets might still be intact.
However, the $100,000 mark for Bitcoin is now a critical psychological and technical level; a sustained drop below it could signal the end of the recent bull cycle. For now, the crypto market is catching its breath, grappling with the aftermath of a truly historic Friday.
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