Bitcoin’s price turbulence continued Friday after briefly plunging to $102,000, as traders reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said the market should brace for more instability in the days ahead, warning that macroeconomic forces are likely to keep influencing Bitcoin’s short-term movements. “If the broader risk-off mood holds, Bitcoin can get dragged around a bit before it finds support and starts to decouple again,” Klippsten said. Market Wipeout Follows Tariff Announcement The crypto market saw over $8 billion in long liquidations within 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Bitcoin alone accounted for around $2.19 billion in liquidations, wiping out leveraged positions as prices fell sharply across exchanges. “We’ve got a little panic in the markets right now, classic macro whiplash. Trump and China are trading tariff threats, equities are off, and traders are scrambling to derisk,” Klippsten added. Ray Salmond, head of markets at Cointelegraph, said many traders “were totally caught off guard” by the speed of the sell-off. He described the tariff announcement as having “sent shockwaves across the crypto market.” At the time of writing, Bitcoin had rebounded slightly, trading near $113,270, according to CoinMarketCap. Cascading Liquidations Across Exchanges Salmond highlighted how the price divergence between major trading platforms underscored the severity of the liquidation cascade. On Coinbase, the BTC/USD pair hit a low of $107,000, while Binance’s perpetual futures saw Bitcoin fall to $102,000. “The dislocation really illustrates the severity of the cascading liquidations and how stops were completely obliterated,” Salmond explained. He referenced data from Hyblock, which revealed that nearly all downside long liquidity had been absorbed, leaving a liquidation cluster between $102,000 and $97,000. Tariffs and Past Price Reactions This isn’t the first time a tariff announcement from Trump has rattled the crypto markets. In April, similar trade measures triggered fears of a global slowdown and sent Bitcoin tumbling. On February 1, after Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico, Bitcoin briefly dipped below $100,000. Analysts View Dip as Opportunity Despite the turmoil, some analysts see the correction as a healthy market reset. Bitwise Invest’s senior investment strategist Juan Leon noted that “the best time to buy BTC has tended to be when it is being dragged down by broader markets.” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, reminded investors that buying during pullbacks is rarely comfortable but often beneficial. “It never feels good when you buy the dip. The dip comes when sentiment drops. Writing the number down can be a good form of discipline,” Hougan said. Bitcoin’s sharp swings remain tied to macro events, but analysts maintain that the long-term outlook for the cryptocurrency remains intact.
