The total value of the cryptocurrency market fell by more than $150 billion in a day amid a sharp sell-off caused by the escalation of the trade conflict between the US and China. Leading digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ether, continue to decline after a historic wave of liquidations that began over the weekend. This was reported by Bloomberg on October 14.
Bitcoin fell 4% to about $111,200. Ether fell 7.8%, falling below $4,000. Smaller, more volatile tokens suffered even greater losses.
The sell-off, which began on October 10 after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on China, has already led to forced liquidations worth about $19 billion. The nervousness among traders is also highlighted by a significant capital outflow. On Monday alone, investors withdrew $756 million from US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin and Ether.
A new impetus to the decline was China’s actions in response to US sanctions. Beijing imposed restrictions on the US units of one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilders, Hanwha Ocean Co. The tension also negatively affected stock markets in Asia and Europe, with most of them in the red on Tuesday.