Key Insights:
- Crypto markets turned lower as US stocks and global assets reacted to President Trump’s latest tariff threats.
- Liquidations crossed $1.1 billion in 24 hours and topped $1.8 billion over two days.
- Bitcoin price action wiped out its gains for the month and slipped below $89,000.
Crypto markets turned lower as US stocks and global assets reacted to President Trump’s latest tariff threats. The key question now is whether this new wave of tension will derail Bitcoin’s early-year bounce and continue wiping out overall crypto prices.
Bitcoin price action wiped out its gains for the month and slipped below $89,000 as the wider crypto market sank. In total, crypto traders suffered $1.1 billion in liquidations over the last 24-hours.
Various experts tied the drop to a growing sell America mood across global markets, made worse by fresh stress in Japan’s bond market.
The pressure intensified tariff threats from US President Donald Trump, and the unrest in Japanese bonds kept investors on edge and pushed selling deeper.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) price traded around $89,815, after slipping to as low as near $88,000. Ethereum hovered near $2,992 as both tokens slid back to their weakest levels in more than two weeks.
Investors pulled back after weighing the administration’s fresh tariff talk, which analysts said aimed to pressure Denmark into reconsidering its control of Greenland.
Europe didn’t look ready to give ground. With talks going nowhere, traders pulled back, cutting risk across both stocks and the crypto market.
That change showed up quickly in the numbers. Risk appetite faded fast on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 1.9% as investors moved into safer ground, sending gold to a fresh record.
The crypto prices got caught in the same risk-off wave, with total market value sliding to about $2.71 trillion, down from nearly $3 trillion the previous Wednesday.
Crypto Market Liquidations Hit $1.1 Billion
The shakeout didn’t stop after the first wave. Liquidations crossed $1.09 billion in 24 hours and topped $1.8 billion over two days.
CoinGlass reported that roughly 93% of the damage came from long positions, meaning the market punished bullish leverage first.
Meanwhile, the sell-off hit the whole market hard. The total crypto market value dropped by roughly $225 billion, its steepest slide since mid-November, pushing overall market capitalization down to about $3.08 trillion.
Bitcoin (BTC) price followed the same path. It hovered near $89,796 for most of the session, then slipped to $87,790 on Coinbase late Tuesday, its lowest level since December 31.
That drop erased Bitcoin gains for the year and left it about 10% below its 2026 high, just under $98,000.
To make matters worse, it also fell under its 50-day exponential moving average, a line that had been holding up the price during the recent rally.
Crypto Prices Rattle as Japan Bonds Crack and Risk Assets Slide
Trump’s latest tariff threats reignited the Sell America trade that first took hold after last April’s tariff announcement. As risk appetite cooled, investors rushed to cut exposure across stocks and crypto.
Still, the tariff story may not be the only force driving the turbulence. Some analysts pointed to pressures building outside the United States.
Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 50T Funds, linked the wipeout to a sharp breakdown in Japan’s bond market that is now spilling into every major asset class.
Tapiero expected gold to keep climbing after it set a new record on Tuesday, reaching $4,835 an ounce. He also said that the crypto prices, including Bitcoin, should eventually move higher, but only after the market settles.
Around the same time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to Japan as the real source of the shock. He said markets fell because Japan’s 10-year bond market saw a six-standard-deviation move over the past two days. He added that the slide had nothing to do with Greenland.
Meanwhile, stress in Japan’s bond market kept building. Reuters reported that Japan’s 10-year government bond yield jumped nearly 19 basis points in just two days.
At the long end, 30-year yields logged their biggest one-day surge since 2003 as investors priced in heavier government spending and thinner liquidity.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2026/01/21/crypto-market-liquidations-hit-1-1b-as-btc-price-drops-to-89000/
