Bitcoin’s $111K Rejection Triggers $560M Liquidation Bloodbath

Crypto markets just got a brutal reminder that gravity still exists—even for digital assets. Bitcoin’s sharp rejection at the $111K resistance level sparked a cascade of liquidations, vaporizing half a billion in leveraged positions faster than a DeFi rug pull.

Leverage giveth, and leverage taketh away. The liquidation wave hit traders who overplayed their hands betting on perpetual upside—because clearly, nobody learned from last cycle’s margin call massacre. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s ’risk-managed’ crypto ETFs watched safely from the sidelines, sipping their $20 lattes.

This is your periodic reminder: In crypto, the house always wins. Especially when the house is a decentralized network of miners and validors collecting fees from over-leveraged degens.

Bitcoin, Ethereum slip on Trump trade war

Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin fell from its all-time high of $111,970 to the $107,000 range, before rebounding back to $109,231. At the same time, Ethereum went from a daily high of $2,731 down to a low of $2,508, before rebounding back to $2,574.

Both major crypto assets fell shortly after the U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new punitive tariffs on the EU and Apple. Escalating trade tensions impact risk assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum more than many other assets. This is because traders are less likely to make risky bets in a potential low-growth environment.

Still, bitcoin proved to be relatively resilient throughout the trade war. The asset surpassed its previous high in November, which coincided with Trump’s inauguration. Ethereum was less resilient, trading far below the $4000 level it broke in November.

Bitcoin’s resilience is likely due to its “digital gold” narrative. Traders, including institutional investors, are starting to look at Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a counter-cyclical asset, which typically do well in volatile market conditions.