$20B GONE: What Happened on Crypto’s Worst Day Since FTX!?

Within just 24 hours of 10th Oct, more than $19 billion was wiped from the crypto market as $BTC.X ( ▼ 5.25% ) plunged toward 110k and $ETH.X ( ▼ 4.38% ) broke below 4k. What triggered this sudden crypto market crash?

Let’s find out!

🚀 Geopolitical Domino Effect

This crypto market crash didn’t start on-chain. It started on the podium.

A high-stakes tariff announcement from President Trump threatened 100 percent levies on Chinese imports, after China imposed rare-earth export curbs.

Yes, of course, markets hate uncertainty, and this particular tariff announcement traveled fast into global risk sentiment.

Here is the logic:

China imposes rareearth export curbs → tariff announcement → equities sell-off → high-beta assets get hit hardest.

When tech and manufacturing supply chains start to wobble, stock markets tend to tumble and panic quickly sets in.

However, since the tariff announcement came on a Friday, the equity markets only felt the impact for a single trading day.

The problem is that panic doesn’t take weekends off, so when traditional markets close, the 24/7 crypto market ends up taking the full hit.

That’s exactly what happened as Bitcoin and Ethereum sank alongside global risk assets, with a sharp, unforgiving drop that saw Bitcoin plunge more than 7% and Ethereum tumble over 10% in just a single day.

📊 Market Reaction and the Exchange Blame Game

In the 24 hours around the move, the crypto market crash tallied roughly $19B in forced liquidations. BTC flushed toward ~110k at the lows on some venues, while ETH fell harder to below 4k.

This also raised serious concerns about the nature of the collapse, especially as several exchanges experienced order freezes that left users unable to trade.

Because exchanges and oracle networks don’t share any coordinated safety systems, one small error on a single platform quickly spread across others, turning a local problem into a chain reaction that made the crypto market crash even worse within minutes.

Among the names mentioned, Binance faced heavy criticism from both users and competitors for trading freezes, failed stop orders, and extreme price wicks on long-tail pairs, while Coinbase struggled with overloads as traffic spiked.

It quickly turned into a rare moment where major exchanges openly attacked and blamed one another with most fingers pointing squarely at Binance.

It’s not pretty, and it underscores how fragmented infrastructure can turn a macro shock into a record crypto market crash.

What made things worse was how quickly people connected the dots to the GameStop $GME ( ▼ 3.2% ) trading halt on Robinhood back in 2021. The parallels were uncanny with sudden volatility, restricted access, and traders feeling locked out of their own positions.

That flashback triggered deep panic across the community, amplifying fear and accelerating the sell-off that dragged the entire crypto market crash.

️💻 On-chain & Technical Perspective

The tension was high, but shortly after Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, China’s Minister of Commerce stepped in to calm the public.

He explained that the move to impose rare-earth export curbs was simply about protecting national interests and resources, not an act of retaliation.

Companies that meet the proper qualifications and paperwork, he emphasized, would still be allowed to export.

Although it’s still unclear how this will affect the stock market when trading resumes on Monday morning, the market has already shown a strong positive reaction creating crypto market crash.

Bitcoin posted two solid green candles in a row, pushing the price back above 115k, signaling a short-term relief rally after days of panic.

Honestly, I wrote this piece to give you another perspective that the recent crash was likely just a short-term price correction before a stronger rally toward the end of the year.

Trump’s statements, as we’ve seen many times, often serve tactical and situational purposes rather than reflecting fixed policy. They can shift direction overnight. So when headlines or social posts from Trump hit the market, it’s usually better not to overreact immediately, since the actual impact tends to be much smaller than the initial noise.

MVRV and Global M2 Supply

To make this point clearer, take a look at indicators like the MVRC Z-Score and Global M2 Supply Growth. Historically, every major Bitcoin cycle top has coincided with the Z-Score hitting the 7–9 range. While we did see a noticeable rebound from the 2023 bottom, the current reading still isn’t strong enough to suggest a full-cycle peak.

In addition, Bitcoin’s price tends to top out when it intersects with the Global M2 Growth line, essentially when global liquidity peaks. Right now, money supply growth remains relatively weak but is gradually trending upward. Based on this pattern, I believe Bitcoin still has more room to run, especially if global liquidity continues to expand and the Federal Reserve eases its monetary policy toward the end of this year.

RSI and MACD

You’ll notice that after brushing near the oversold 30 level on BTC, the RSI has turned upward and started to recover, which is a sign of improving momentum and a more positive short-term trend.

At the same time, the MACD line (blue) has crossed below the Signal line (orange), and the histogram has moved into negative territory, confirming a short-term correction phase.

However, the gap between the two lines is narrowing, suggesting that the downside momentum is fading. If the histogram continues to contract and the MACD begins to curve upward, it would indicate that selling pressure is weakening and a potential bottom is forming.

On the daily ETH/USD chart, the MACD clearly shows that the downward momentum has weakened significantly. The MACD line has just crossed above the Signal line from deep negative territory, often one of the first signs that selling pressure is fading.

Moving to the RSI, it’s hovering around 47, a neutral zone but pointing upward. More importantly, RSI is forming higher lows while the price itself has just made a lower low. Yes, it is a subtle bullish divergence.

This typically appears near the end of a downtrend, signaling that selling pressure is easing and the market is preparing to enter an accumulation or potential reversal phase.

In short, both short- and mid-term indicators suggest there’s nothing fundamentally negative left to push prices much lower. What we’re seeing now is more of a liquidity flush - a margin washout designed to clear excessive leverage. In other words, the whales are shaking out weak longs to accumulate before driving prices higher again.

🎯 Final Take

The crash was triggered by Trump’s sudden tariff announcement and China’s rare-earth curbs, sparking panic across global markets. With stocks closed and crypto trading 24/7, over $19B was wiped out in a single day before prices quickly stabilized above 115k.

Technically, this was a liquidity flush, not a trend reversal. MACD and RSI show fading sell pressure, while liquidity metrics like Global M2 Growth suggest room for another rally.