The crypto market turned lower over the past 24 hours. CoinGecko data shows total market capitalization at $3.23 trillion, down 2.5% on the day, while trading volume reached $124 billion, a sign that activity stayed heavy during the sell-off. Bitcoin fell 2.2% to $93,004.43, Ethereum lost 3.1% to $3,218, XRP dropped 3.9%, and Solana slid 6.1%. Bitcoin dominance stood at 57.5%, with Ethereum dominance at 12%.
Trade war fears push money toward safer assets
A major driver behind the move was concern over trade tensions. The report said U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on several European countries, including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. The tariffs are set to start at 10% on February 1 and rise to 25% by June if no agreement is reached. The European Commission described the move as “blackmail” and is preparing tariffs worth $101.4 billion (€93 billion) on U.S. exports.
In periods like this, capital often rotates into gold and silver instead of higher-risk assets. The article pointed to last year’s U.S.-China tariff dispute, when Bitcoin fell nearly 25% and the global crypto market cap dropped 32% to $2.96 trillion. The current decline is smaller, but the comparison shows why traders are reacting quickly to trade headlines.
Regulatory delays in the US add another layer of uncertainty
US policy developments also weighed on sentiment. The Senate Banking Committee pushed back its markup of the CLARITY Act after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support for the bill. That delay weakened expectations that the market would get clearer rules in the near term.
At the same time, U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned the constitutionality of Trump’s tariff powers, and the issue remains before the court. One source of uncertainty comes from crypto regulation, another from the legal standing of tariff actions. Traders responded by cutting risk. That showed up fast in both spot prices and leveraged positions.
248,203 traders liquidated as whales cut positions
Derivatives data captured the scale of the deleveraging. CoinGlass reported that 248,203 traders were liquidated in 24 hours, for a total of $874.80 million. The largest single liquidation order was on Hyperliquid’s BTC-USDT pair, worth $25.83 million.
Large-holder activity added to the pressure. According to Lookonchain, whale address 0x10ea fully closed a 113 million DOGE long position valued at about $14.56 million, taking a $2.7 million loss. Another whale, Ci8jH5, withdrew 20,466 SOL and later sent the same amount back to Kraken after the holding’s value fell from $4.1 million to $2.83 million, locking in a $1.27 million loss. Moves like these can increase available supply in a short window and make price declines steeper.
Sentiment indicators also weakened. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell to 44, placing the market in the “Fear” zone.
The pullback follows a strong rally
The report framed the latest slide as a correction after a strong run rather than a collapse in core fundamentals. It also noted that Arthur Hayes, Tom Lee, and Robert Kiyosaki have projected a strong bullish cycle in 2026. For now, though, price action is being shaped by trade concerns, slower regulatory progress, liquidations, and whale selling, leaving short-term volatility elevated.