Ethereum, Solana, and other major altcoins took a beating on Monday as the entire crypto market dropped more than 13%, following a big selloff in Asian markets, leading to more than $1 billion in liquidations.
Ethereum (ETH), the largest altcoin, fell over 19% in just 24 hours, dropping to around $1,450. That puts it down more than 60% for the year. Other popular coins like XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) also lost key support levels, each dropping about 18–20%.
In total, the crypto market recorded over $1.38 billion in liquidations, with the majority coming from long positions. Approximately $1.21 billion was wiped out from traders betting on prices to rise.
The recent selloff in ETH and other altcoins appears to be largely driven by rising global tensions triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff war. His plan includes a 10% tariff on most imports, with even higher rates, 34% on Chinese goods and 20% on EU products.
Trump says the new tariffs will help bring in more money for the U.S. and fix trade issues with China and Europe. But the markets didn’t take it well.
China has hit back with its own retaliatory tariffs, targeting key U.S. exports like agricultural products and tech goods. Other countries, including some in the EU and Asia, have also hinted at introducing similar countermeasures, raising fears of a full-blown global trade war.
Stock markets in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore experienced severe losses on Monday morning, triggering circuit breakers, a mechanism designed to halt trading during extreme volatility temporarily. Indexes across the region fell between 7% and 13% as panic selling swept through investors.
Bitcoin (BTC) crashed alongside the stock markets. The leading cryptocurrency fell over 8% in the past day, dropping below the $76,500 mark, a level analysts had warned needed to be held to avoid deeper losses.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped 11 points in a day, landing in the “extreme fear” zone. It’s a sign that investors are pivoting away from risk assets.
The decline has also raised doubts about Bitcoin’s role as a hedge during times of economic uncertainty, especially since it fell while gold and other precious metals saw price gains.
Making matters worse, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the new tariffs could raise inflation and slow the U.S. economy. He also mentioned there’s no need to cut interest rates just yet, which isn’t great news for crypto or stocks, both of which tend to do better when rates are lower.
Commenting on today’s crypto market drop, Georgii Verbitskii, founder of crypto investor app TYMIO, told crypto.news that he believes the sell-off isn’t about the failure of specific altcoins but rather a broader wave of “market stress” fueled by macro uncertainty.
He pointed to Trump’s tariff announcements as a major driver of tension, saying they’ve led to a “broad sell-off in risk assets.”
With over $1 billion in liquidations hitting the crypto sector, Verbitskii noted it’s understandable that altcoins took a hit. Still, he called it a moment for “caution, not panic,” and said the market would likely stay reactive until there’s more clarity on the regulatory and macroeconomic fronts.
Slava Demchuk, CEO of AMLBot, also attributed the crash to a mix of external pressures and internal fragility. According to Demchuk, this is “just a storm” and not the end of the road.
“In the short term, I expect volatility to persist, but the recovery will depend on positive catalysts, such as more stable economic policy in the US. We should focus on risk management and long-term fundamentals during this turbulence,” he added.
