Bitcoin falls below $112,000 amid renewed US-China trade fears 

WEB DESK: Bitcoin fell sharply on Saturday, extending a losing streak triggered by renewed trade tensions between the United States and China. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at around $111,881, marking a 7.66 percent decline in the past 24 hours.

The drop came just days after Bitcoin hit a record high of $125,835 on October 6, driven by strong investor demand and optimism over friendlier policies under US President Donald Trump. The cryptocurrency had gained more than 33 percent this year, supported by increasing institutional interest and its growing integration with global financial systems. 

Market turns red after Trump’s tariff announcement 

The latest slide followed Trump’s announcement on Friday that he would raise tariffs on Chinese exports to the US to 100 percent and impose new export restrictions on what he described as “critical software”. The move came in response to Beijing’s recent decision to limit exports of rare earth minerals essential for the tech and manufacturing industries. 

The announcement shook global financial markets, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 2 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid nearly 1.9 percent, losing over 870 points. The crypto market quickly followed suit, with Bitcoin briefly plunging below $108,000, marking one of the steepest single-day declines of 2025. 

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also fell by nearly 6 percent to around $3,637. Other major digital assets such as XRP and Solana dropped 32 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The memecoin sector plunged 35 percent, while tokens linked to artificial intelligence projects lost about 30 percent of their value. 

Heavy liquidations and investor panic 

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, CoinMarketCap, and TradingView, Bitcoin’s slide below $120,000 triggered widespread liquidations. Coinglass, a popular liquidation-tracking platform, reportedly crashed briefly due to the sheer volume of positions being wiped out. 

Analysts from Skew noted that “new short positions” appeared to dominate the market as traders reacted to the sell-off. Meanwhile, trading resource Material Indicators pointed out that Bitcoin was undergoing its third consecutive daily test of a key support trendline. 

Adding to the chaos, data from Lookonchain revealed that an early Bitcoin investor, often referred to as a “Bitcoin OG”, opened short positions worth $1.1 billion on Bitcoin and Ethereum before the crash, reportedly sitting on more than $27 million in unrealised profits. 

A recurring pattern 

This is not the first time Trump’s tariff threats have rattled the crypto market. Similar downturns were recorded in April and August when the US government announced new levies on major trading partners. 

The combined impact of the tariff news erased nearly $280 billion from the global crypto market’s value in just one day, highlighting its growing sensitivity to geopolitical and economic developments. 

Despite the current losses, market analysts believe that if selling pressure eases and support holds above the $100,000 level, Bitcoin could stabilise in the coming days. For now, though, the market remains on edge, with investors watching closely how the US-China trade tensions unfold.