Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $100K Even as Trade Tensions Subside

The Bitcoin price has plummeted to below $100,000 even as trade tensions between the U.S. and China cool off. This is particularly the lowest it has been since June.

Bitcoin Crashes Despite Bullish Fundamentals

The Bitcoin crash has resulted in the removal of the token’s earlier gains since June. The token fell by more than 5% to $99,980 on Tuesday. This indicates a 20% depreciation from the high reached last month. It officially placed Bitcoin in bear market territory.

Ethereum also plummeted by a potential 6.6%, with some alts experiencing losses above 50% this year.

The Bitcoin crash occurred amid one of the most violent single-day plunges ever recorded in the crypto market. In 24 hours alone, there had been the liquidation of more than 19 billion dollars’ worth of positions. About 1.6 million traders had been forced out of the market. This had occurred at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump had decided to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports.

In comparison to current liquidation levels, according to data from Coinglass, total liquidations totaled $1.36 billion on Tuesday.

It is pertinent to note that open interest in Bitcoin futures is still well short of pre-crash levels. This is despite the favourable funding rates. It seems that not many people have been willing to take new positions. This is because analysts have indicated that the weak recovery is a reflection of Bitcoin market sentiment. Bitcoin is still up less than 10% this year.

Options market players have begun hedging heavily against potential descents. Data highlights increasing demand for put options with the target price at $80,000. 

The Bitcoin crash parallels the slump in the performance of high-growth technology companies like Nvidia and Palantir. These technology companies have also plummeted with steep corrections due to their high valuations.

Cooling Trade War Fails to Lift Market Sentiment

Ironically enough, this market meltdown occurred at a time when trade tensions had just begun to moderate. Washington and Beijing had reached a consensus to scale back tariffs and increase farm imports. The U.S. had agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese goods by 10%.

Meanwhile, China offered to buy more U.S. soybeans and to wait before restricting the export of rare earth minerals. But the trade war truce has not done much to boost crypto markets. Monetary authorities have also acted to mitigate slowing economic growth. 

The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada have both cut their interest rates by 25 basis points during the previous week. This resulted in lower rates to encourage demand. The Fed cut rates for the second time in 2025 to a range of 3.75-4.0%.

The ongoing U.S. government shutdown adds to the uncertainty. It has set a record after the Senate failed for the 14th time to pass a short-term funding bill.