- Bitcoin drops to $93K after EU tariff news, while gold and silver hit record highs, showing safe-haven demand.
- Nearly $800M in leveraged crypto longs liquidated, highlighting growing risk aversion among traders.
- Crypto volatility stays muted, signaling traders expect no big price swings until macro signals clear up.
Crypto investors faced a tense weekend as President Donald Trump tied proposed tariffs on several EU countries and the UK to a potential U.S. purchase of Greenland. With U.S. equity markets closed, futures trading became the first arena for traditional markets to price the development.
Over the weekend, tokenized stocks barely moved as investors stayed cautious without clear market guidance. Crypto, often an early signal for big economic or political news, also stayed in a tight range, with major coins hardly changing. Thin trading volumes made it hard to read the market’s real mood.
Bitcoin and the wider crypto market faced further pressure on Monday after reports emerged that the European Union prepared €93 billion ($110 billion) in retaliatory tariffs. This development drove European equities lower and pushed U.S. futures down, while haven assets such as gold and silver surged to record highs.
However, Bitcoin did not follow the precious metals’ upward trend, currently trading at $93,000 after losing 2.5% since 23:00 UTC on Sunday. Altcoins displayed mixed results, with the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) down 4.64% over 24 hours but still outperforming the bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 (CD20), which fell 2.5%.
Crypto Liquidations and Risk Aversion Surge
Bitcoin slipped below the $94,500 support level after a brief breakout on Wednesday, risking a return to a mid-November range of $85,000–$94,500. The market pullback forced out nearly $800 million in leveraged long positions within 24 hours, highlighting the impact of margin shortfalls.
Total notional open interest (OI) in crypto futures declined over 2% to $138.14 billion. While Bitcoin’s OI slightly increased and Ethereum’s remained flat, other major tokens like SOL, XRP, ADA, DOGE, SUI, and LTC dropped between 8%–13%, signaling significant capital outflows and rising risk aversion.
Volatility and Trader Sentiment Remain Muted
Even with market jitters, Bitcoin and Ethereum’s expected 30-day price swings stayed steady, showing traders don’t expect big moves soon. The difference between BTC options hints at continued worry about drops. Traders are hedging carefully, waiting for clearer economic or global signals before making big bets.