- Bitcoin liquidation losses hit $222M after President Trump raised planned global tariffs.
- Extreme Fear sentiment deepened as the crypto market cap fell by nearly four percent.
- Market analysts noted oversold signals and long-term divergence on Bitcoin charts.
Bitcoin began the week on shaky footing, tumbling quickly in early trading as markets digested a fresh round of tariff escalation from U.S. President Donald Trump. The drop was abrupt: from an opening level of $67,643, the asset slid nearly 5% within two hours and briefly touched $64,290 before stabilizing.
By press time, it hovered near $65,028, still down more than 4% over the past day and struggling to regain its footing. The sell-off unfolded just as Washington entered another bout of policy turbulence. According to reports, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority when he invoked emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs.
Within hours of the decision, Trump turned to a different legal pathway, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, signing a proclamation that set a 10% duty on imports. Then came the surprise: a declaration that the rate would jump to 15%, which he called the maximum allowed under current law.
Tariff-Driven Volatility Sends Shockwaves Across the Bitcoin Market
The back-and-forth in Washington spilled quickly into digital asset markets. Traders braced for a wave of volatility, and it arrived. CoinGlass data showed a sharp round of liquidations tied to the downturn, with Bitcoin accounting for $222.03 million over 24 hours.
Per the data, most of that, $206.78 million, came from long positions that unwound as prices slipped lower. Short liquidations, on the other hand, barely registered by comparison, at $15.25 million. The pattern made clear how heavily leveraged the market had become.
As prices dropped under pressure from macro headlines, positions collapsed in succession, creating a feedback loop that deepened the drawdown. Traders described it less as a panic and more as an overdue flush-out after weeks of crowded long exposure.
Broader Crypto Market Turns Risk-Off Amid Tariff Shock
Nevertheless, the stress wasn’t confined to one asset. The total crypto market cap fell 3.95% to $2.24 trillion, a reminder that the downturn ran across sectors rather than following a narrow technical move in Bitcoin alone.
Sentiment gauges reflected the shift as well. The CMC Fear & Greed Index slid to 14, placing the market firmly in “Extreme Fear” territory, a zone where volatility often overshadows fundamentals.
Broader risk markets have been sensitive to tariff news in recent months, and this episode followed the pattern. Uncertainty around trade policy tends to raise caution, complicating positioning for both short-term traders and longer-horizon investors.
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Key Technical Metrics Point to Exhaustion and Long-Term Divergence
Despite the pullback, some technical readings pointed to exhaustion on the sell side. On the weekly chart, Bitcoin’s RSI sat near 26, a level associated with extended weakness. Historically, market analysts view such readings as mark points where selling pressure begins to taper.
In support, market watcher Bitcoinensus highlighted in an X post a long-term hidden bullish divergence forming in the background. According to the analyst’s analysis, BTC’s price action has been pushing higher lows since mid-2025 while the RSI drifts into lower lows.
That mismatch, Bitcoin price holding ground while momentum softens, has historically marked important turning points or, at the very least, supported the continuation of an established uptrend. If the market leans into that setup, the first major test sits near $68,698, the ceiling that halted last week’s rally.
Clearing it would reopen the higher zones around $70,000 and $72,000, where sellers previously stepped in. However, any stumble in sentiment may keep pressure on the downside. In that case, Bitcoin could slip back toward the psychological $60,000 area, a level revisited earlier this month and now viewed as the next significant support.
