Can you believe it? The cryptocurrency market just experienced its largest loss ever, with a jaw-dropping $19 billion evaporating in a single day! This monumental crash was triggered by none other than a tweet from former US President Donald Trump, who announced 100% tariffs on China along with new export controls on software.

As traders panicked and scrambled to secure their investments, two of the biggest players in the crypto game—Bitcoin and Ethereum—plummeted significantly. According to The Independent, many investors rushed to safer assets or stablecoins, driven by fears of a renewed trade war.

Bitcoin, which had recently hit a staggering record high of over $125,000 just days before, saw an alarming decline of more than 12%. By Saturday morning in London, it was trading below $113,000. Ethereum wasn’t far behind, facing a similar fate as traders fled their positions, resulting in record liquidations.

Coinglass reported that in the last 24 hours alone, over 1.6 million traders were liquidated, with more than $7 billion worth of positions sold in less than an hour. And it doesn’t stop there; with exchanges like Binance only recording one liquidation per second, the total losses could indeed be much higher.

To add to the chaos, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, faced a massive backlash as users reported frozen accounts and failed stop-loss orders. Some altcoins experienced terrifying flash crashes, with values temporarily dropping to near zero. Coins like Enjin (ENJ) and Cosmos (ATOM) saw their prices crashing to $0.0000 and $0.001, respectively, before they managed to rebound. Binance attributed the disruptions to “heavy market activity,” assuring users that their funds were secure, but critics claim the outages only worsened the crash and allowed Binance to profit during the turmoil.

Market experts are now sounding alarms about the potential for contagion. Brian Strugats, head trader at Multicoin Capital, expressed concerns over counterparty exposure and the fear that this might trigger broader market issues, estimating total liquidations could top $30 billion.

Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, warned that Bitcoin's next significant support level rests at $100,000. “If we drop below this, it could mark the end of the past three-year bull cycle,” she cautioned, referencing Deribit data that shows a concentration of Bitcoin put options at the $110,000 and $100,000 levels.

But it’s not just cryptocurrencies feeling the heat; escalating US-China trade tensions sent shockwaves through stocks, oil, and commodities, while safe-haven assets like Treasuries and gold saw a surge in demand.

Ravi Doshi, co-head of markets at prime broker FalconX, noted an “outsized demand for downside protection,” a clear reflection of the prevailing uncertainty in the market. Meanwhile, David Jeong, CEO of Tread.fi, described the event as a “black swan.” He emphasized that leveraged perpetual futures, which allow continuous trading, exacerbated the losses for numerous traders and institutions.

Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, added that while the rout was sparked by tariff fears, it was fueled by institutional over-leverage, highlighting cryptocurrency's vulnerability to macroeconomic shifts.