Crypto traders betting on rising prices were hit hard as over $2.2 billion in liquidations flooded the market. Bitcoin plummeted to $91K, and Ethereum saw a dramatic 20% drop within 24 hours.

Traders who had invested heavily in long positions were forced to liquidate as panic followed former President Trump’s new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. This triggered a catastrophic crash that surpassed even the collapses of Terra (LUNA) and FTX, marking the worst single-day liquidation event ever recorded.

According to CoinGlass data, futures traders suffered the most significant losses, with $1.87 billion in long positions liquidated as of February 3, compared to $345 million in short positions.

Ethereum was hit the hardest, liquidating $600 million in ETH positions. It was followed by Bitcoin, which saw $400 million in liquidations.

The price drops were severe: Ethereum fell to $2,500, a 20% loss in just one day, while Bitcoin dropped to $91,200 before recovering slightly to $93,600, still showing a 6.5% decline.

Altcoins were even more affected, with most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies losing between 15% and 30% of their value in 24 hours. The massive market leverage caused the downturn to accelerate quickly, as falling prices triggered further liquidations, deepening the collapse.

The selling pressure became too much to handle, with the market already on edge from recent volatility.

One analyst compared the event to the massive altcoin crash during the COVID-19 pandemic and warned traders not to rush into “revenge trading” using leverage. The advice is clear: exercise patience, not risky bets.

For now, the damage has been done. The coming days will reveal whether this is a temporary setback or the beginning of more liquidations/downturns in the crypto market.