Bitcoin fell below $112,000 during trading Tuesday afternoon Hong Kong time as China’s retaliatory trade measures sent a fresh wave of risk-off sentiment across global markets.
Bloomberg reported earlier Tuesday that China sanctioned U.S. units of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean in a move that reignited fears that the trade conflict with Washington could spiral, just days after both sides signaled restraint.
Stocks in Asia tumbled, equity futures in the U.S. and Europe followed, and crypto traders were again forced to de-risk after a brief weekend bounce.
Contracts tied to the S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, Nasdaq 100 futures lost 1%, and Japan’s Nikkei fell more than 3%, marking its worst session in nearly two months.
The yen reversed losses and strengthened against the dollar. Gold and silver both erased earlier gains in heavy afternoon selling, while 10-year Treasury yields eased to near 4.03% as investors moved to safety.
Crypto again tracked risk. Bitcoin fell 3% to $111,869, Ethereum dropped 4% to around $4,000, and BNB slid more than 10% after outperforming last week. XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin all fell between 5% and 6% in the past 24 hours.
Total liquidations hit $630 million, with long positions making up two-thirds of the wipeout, according to CoinGlass.
The correction extends a volatile stretch that began with U.S. President Donald Trump’s 100% tariff threat on Chinese imports last week — a shock that triggered crypto’s largest-ever liquidation event.
Nearly $20 billion in positions were erased across derivatives markets in 24 hours, per Hyperliquid data, before a short-lived rebound over the weekend.
The latest slide continues to show just how tightly crypto remains coupled to global macro risk, with an earlier bounce from Sunday nearly reversing fully.
