The deepening global trade war is rattling markets, and crypto is taking a major hit. With the U.S. imposing sweeping tariffs—up to 34% on imports from key regions like China and the EU—the crypto market has lost $1 trillion in value since February 2025.
Bitcoin is down 19.1%, Ethereum 40%, and speculative tokens like meme coins and AI-based assets have dropped over 50%.
Once hailed as “digital gold,” Bitcoin is now behaving more like a traditional risk asset. Its correlation with the S&P 500 has flipped from negative to positive, while its link to gold has turned negative. Meanwhile, gold is up 10.3% and gaining favor as inflation expectations rise.
With Bitcoin losing its appeal as a safe-haven asset, institutional investors may start shifting focus back to time-tested hedges like gold. As macro uncertainty grows, the market appears to be choosing physical gold over digital alternatives.
Bitcoin bulls were hit the hardest, with more than $411 million in long positions liquidated. Ethereum wasn’t far behind, racking up losses of around $349 million. The pain extended to altcoins as well: Solana (SOL) saw $74.16 million in liquidations, while XRP futures were cleared out by $70.98 million.
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