A sudden shock rippled through global crypto markets on Friday night, triggering one of the largest price collapses in recent years.
Within hours, billions were wiped from the digital asset space as panic selling swept through traders – but analysts now believe the worst may already be over.
The meltdown came on the heels of Washington’s latest tariff escalation against China, which blindsided investors and sparked a global flight from risk. Markets that had been on edge for weeks finally cracked, setting off an avalanche of liquidations as overleveraged traders scrambled to exit their positions.
Panic Selling and Forced Liquidations
According to blockchain analyst Joshua Duckett, the drop was amplified by excessive leverage in the system. “When traders borrow a hundred times more than they hold, even a small move turns catastrophic,” he explained. The combination of panic, margin calls, and automated liquidations sent Bitcoin tumbling below $102,000, with Ethereum and other top altcoins crashing over 20%.
Duckett said the speed of the collapse reflected the nature of crypto itself: an always-on market with no trading halts. “When fear spreads, there’s no circuit breaker. It’s just a chain reaction,” he noted.
A Market on the Edge of Balance
Despite the carnage, signs of a fragile rebound are beginning to surface. Duckett suggested that volatility may ease in the short term as liquidations slow and prices consolidate. “We’re seeing early indicators that selling pressure has plateaued. The system is trying to find a new balance,” he said.
Still, the recovery remains uncertain. Many traders remain sidelined, and analysts warn that further policy shocks or sudden liquidity squeezes could trigger more volatility.
Lessons From the Crash
The latest market rout has once again highlighted the dangers of extreme leverage and herd-driven trading behavior. Duckett cautioned retail investors to rethink their strategies: “In this market, risk moves faster than reason. Never gamble with what you can’t afford to lose.”
Even as the crypto market stabilizes, the episode serves as a harsh reminder that rapid gains often carry equally rapid collapses – and that resilience, not leverage, remains the key to surviving crypto’s most unpredictable storms.
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