Amidst the bloody turmoil of leveraged liquidations, a life-and-death game between institutional whales and retail investors is unfolding.
'Billions of dollars flow into the U.S. tonight!' Trump’s furious roar sends global markets into a bloodbath. The reciprocal tariff policy effective at midnight on August 1 is like a financial nuclear bomb, blasting Bitcoin's price down from a high of $119,000 to below $114,000, with over $600 million in long positions evaporating within 24 hours, while the mining machine tax cost surges by 41%, causing blood to flow like a river in the crypto sphere!
1 Bloody 24 hours, a textbook-level deleveraging massacre
Trump's tariff list swings down like the Grim Reaper: imposing punitive tariffs of 10%-41% on imported goods from 92 countries, targeting China, the EU, and even traditional ally Canada, with rates soaring directly to 35%. Following the news, the cryptocurrency market instantly evaporated $300 billion in market value, with Bitcoin plummeting 3% to $113,231 and Ethereum dropping 6%, while Solana crashed 5%.
Leverage longs lay dead everywhere in a series of liquidations. The futures gap at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) became the trigger for the massacre, with algorithmic trading programs precisely hunting stop-loss orders clustered around the gap, triggering a domino effect.
The $338 million long position turned to nothing, accounting for 85% of the total liquidations
The total liquidation amount surged to $726 million, with 90% being leveraged long positions
The fear index VIX soared, and capital crazily fled risk assets
Even more terrifying, the whales have already caught the scent of blood! On-chain data shows Galaxy Digital sold off 10,000 Bitcoin (worth $1.18 billion) to exchanges like Binance and OKX within 8 hours before the crash, perfectly escaping the peak. Meanwhile, retail investors lament on social media, 'I can’t survive, I’ve lost everything,' while high-leverage gamblers lost everything overnight.
2 The myth of digital gold collapses! Bitcoin unexpectedly dies in sync with tech stocks
When traditional financial markets crash, Bitcoin's safe-haven properties face epic skepticism!
Unlike the 346% surge of Bitcoin during the 2018 trade war, this time Bitcoin actually plummeted in sync with U.S. tech stocks: Coinbase's share price dropped 16%, Circle fell 8.4%, completely mirroring the Nasdaq's movements.
Professor Lin Chen from the University of Hong Kong sharply points out: 'Bitcoin has become a high Beta risk asset!' Since the launch of spot ETFs, traditional financial institutions have been entering in droves, and Bitcoin's price has become deeply tied to macro indicators such as U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar index. In the face of systemic risk, its volatility is highly correlated with tech stocks, and the so-called 'digital gold' is merely a self-deceptive fairy tale.
Ironically, as Bitcoin falls from grace, XRP and Ethereum soar against the trend!
Within 24 hours of the tariff policy announcement, XRP surged by 4.5%, Ethereum rose by 2.7%, and the DeFi protocol Ethena skyrocketed by 10.8%. Funds are shifting from 'pseudo-safe haven' Bitcoin to practical tokens that truly address cross-border payment pain points.
3 The miners' apocalypse! A 41% tax on mining machines ignites a survival crisis in the industry
Tariff policy hits Bitcoin's lifeblood—mining industry chain costs soar across the board!
90% of global mining machines rely on Chinese manufacturing, and Trump's 41% tariff on China will cause prices of mainstream mining machines like the Antminer S21 to skyrocket. Coupled with rising energy prices, miners' overall costs have surged by over 30%, forcing them to sell Bitcoin to maintain cash flow.
The fatal flaw is that the tariff policy exposes the fatal structural weaknesses in the crypto sphere:
Mining machine supply chain disruption: Chinese mining giants such as Bitmain and MicroBT face export obstacles
Compliance risk outbreak: The 'America First' policy may trigger a ban on the import of mining equipment
The strong dollar suppresses: Capital outflow drives up the dollar's value, shrinking Bitcoin's actual purchasing power
Countless miners mourn on social platforms: 'On-chain and off-chain teach us one thing: decentralization is the ultimate hedge.' When the policy iron fist falls, the fragility of centralized supply chains is fully exposed.
4 Counterattack! Institutions are fully loaded with ammunition, August CPI is the nuclear button
On the bloody battlefield, a mysterious force is quietly propping up the market.
In stark contrast to the whale sell-offs, the spot Bitcoin ETF has entered a crazy accumulation mode! Institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity continue to inject funds, absorbing over $1 billion in selling pressure in a single day, establishing a solid price floor. MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor even referred to the crash as 'God’s gift,' suggesting continued bottom-fishing.
The U.S. CPI data on August 12 is about to ignite the next round of nuclear explosions!
If the data shows that inflation is under control, the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in September will soar to 89.8%, and a liquidity flood will rush back into the crypto market. But if inflation rebounds, the high-interest rate environment will continue to strangle high-leverage players.
5 Survivor strategies: Four moves to traverse through the tariff war
After the bloodbath, real opportunities are emerging:
Abandon the virtual for the real: Discard air coins and target practical assets like XRP (Ripple's cross-border payment daily trading volume exceeds $1.5 billion)
Hedging tool: Use stablecoin USDC (income year-on-year increase of 44%) and options combined to resist volatility
Gap tactics: Keep a close eye on the CME futures gap (current gap of 114,200-115,500 awaits filling)
Event arbitrage: Betting on extreme volatility before and after the August CPI data release
History does not simply repeat itself, but it always carries similar rhymes. Bitcoin plunged 40% at the beginning of the 2018 trade war, only to surge 300% in the following 18 months. When the market is engulfed in extreme fear, the true hunters have smelled the opportunity amidst the blood.
Click on the avatar to follow me for a hand of information and in-depth analysis!
Remember: In a bear market, you either cut others or get cut—there is no middle option!#美国加征关税
