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- The crypto crash deepens as Trump’s trade tariffs rattle global markets, wiping out confidence across risk assets.
- Bitcoin drops 8% to $78K, Ethereum sinks nearly 15%, as $892M in leveraged crypto positions are liquidated.
- Peter Schiff blames Trump’s protectionist policies, mocking the idea of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff is sounding the alarm once again, this time tying crypto’s sharp downturn to U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial new trade tariffs.
Bitcoin and broader crypto markets are under heavy pressure following a wave of global economic uncertainty triggered by Trump’s surprise tariff announcement on Friday. The move sent shockwaves across financial markets worldwide, with equities and digital assets both tumbling over the weekend.
Economist and vocal crypto opponent Peter Schiff believes this is just the beginning. “Crypto is finally starting to crack,” Schiff wrote on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting what he sees as a delayed market reaction to Trump’s new protectionist trade measures. “I thought the dumbest thing Trump would do was establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. I was wrong,” he added.
Bitcoin, which had previously been hailed by some as a hedge against traditional market instability, failed to show resilience. According to CoinGecko, BTC dropped 8.0% in the last 24 hours to $76,819, down 27% from its all-time high of $108,786 recorded on January 20.
Ethereum saw even steeper losses, falling 14.7% to $1,543. The second-largest crypto asset is now down over 67% from its November 2021 peak, marking a dramatic reversal for investors who once viewed ETH as a long-term safe bet in the DeFi and NFT ecosystem.
$892M Crypto Crash as Schiff Blames Trump
The crypto crash comes amid broader turmoil in global financial markets. U.S. stock futures took a nosedive Sunday night, foreshadowing a volatile open on Wall Street. In Asia, the sell-off intensified: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 8.9%, while Taiwan’s Taiex index sank nearly 10%, triggering automatic circuit breakers for tech giants like TSMC and Foxconn.
Crypto markets experienced a sharp spike in liquidations. More than $892 million in leveraged positions were wiped out over the last 24 hours, according to CoinGlass. Of that, Bitcoin traders alone saw $300 million in both long and short positions erased in a single day.
Schiff, the CEO of Euro Pacific Asset Management and a frequent critic of cryptocurrency, also aimed at the Official Trump meme coin, a project launched earlier this year that briefly gained traction among retail traders. The coin fell another 15.0% on Sunday, now trading at just $7.74. That’s an 89.1% crash from its January 19 high of $73.43.
“Fitting,” Schiff quipped, as he tied the token’s collapse to the broader downturn. He also criticized crypto influencers and industry insiders who have publicly supported Trump’s trade policies. “There are three possible explanations,” he wrote. “1) Are they actually this dumb? 2) They need to back up anything Trump does to secure his continued support. 3) They believe the economic harm will benefit Bitcoin.”
Schiff Warns as $900M Crypto Crash Hits
Schiff has consistently warned against intertwining political agendas with crypto investment strategies. He previously opposed proposals like the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, an idea floated by the Trump administration to hold Bitcoin as a national asset. In Schiff’s view, these moves only serve to amplify retail investor risk, especially in the face of misguided economic policies.
Now, as Bitcoin slides and Ethereum sinks further into bear territory, Schiff’s warnings are being echoed by growing concerns within the financial community. With nearly $900 million in crypto liquidations and global markets in flux, the question is no longer whether politics affect crypto; it’s how deep the damage might go.
Related | Bitcoin Bounces Back as Investors Pour 8.2 Billion Into Crypto
