Bullish crypto bets lost over $500 million as President Trump ratchets up trade war with EU

Bitcoin, which had been trading above $111,000, dropped quickly to around $108,600, wiping out intraday gains and rattling broader market sentiment.

Cryptocurrency bulls lost more than $500 million in bullish bets in the past 24 hours as traders booked profits and markets slid following President Donald Trump’s fresh threats of tariffs on European imports and Apple products, sparking a wave of liquidations.

The cryptocurrency market experienced a downturn on Friday, with bitcoin futures on major exchanges like Binance, Huobi, and OKX reporting a collective loss of about $181 million.

The bulk of the liquidation total stemmed from a single trade on OKX, where a $9.53 million BTC-USDT swap was liquidated, according to data from CoinGlass.

A liquidation occurs when an exchange forcefully closes a trader's leveraged position due to the trader's inability to meet the margin requirements.

Large-scale liquidations can indicate market extremes, like panic selling or buying. A cascade of liquidations might suggest a market turning point, where a price reversal could be imminent due to an overreaction in market sentiment.

The pullback arrived just as bitcoin was gaining momentum from ETF inflows and growing institutional interest, setting the stage for what was expected to be a calm weekend session.

Instead, volatility returned in full force as Trump threatened tariffs on European products in response to currency depreciation, later adding that he would impose tariffs on Apple and other U.S. companies’ products if necessary.

With the macro environment now destabilized by renewed trade war fears, traders may remain cautious heading into next week’s sessions.