Crypto Black Friday explained: How $19.5 billion vanished in hours

  • Bitcoin plunged 8.4% as liquidity collapsed across exchanges.
  • Oracle glitches triggered cross-liquidations and temporary de-pegs.
  • The crash exposed major vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure.

On 10–11 October 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced one of its sharpest collapses in years — an event the community has dubbed Crypto Black Friday.

In just a few hours, more than $19.5 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out, sending Bitcoin down by 8.4% and shaking investor confidence worldwide.

What began as a reaction to the US’s 100% tariff announcement on Chinese goods quickly revealed much deeper cracks in the system — showing how automated trading, thin liquidity, and structural weaknesses combined to trigger a chain reaction across exchanges.

What triggered the sell-off?

The first signs of the crash appeared after President Trump confirmed steep new tariffs on Chinese imports, fuelling fears of higher inflation and tighter Federal Reserve policy.

Traders rushed to unwind risky positions, leading to rapid liquidations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Wrapped Beacon ETH (WBETH), and Binance-Smart-based Solana (BNSOL).

But geopolitical panic alone doesn’t explain how billions disappeared so quickly. Analysts say technical and structural factors amplified the event.

Liquidity across exchanges was unusually low, and some Binance users reported frozen accounts during the sell-off.

High-leverage looped loans and a temporary de-pegging of the USDE stablecoin made matters worse, creating a cascade of forced sales. Binance later confirmed system issues and offered compensation to affected users.

How technical flaws magnified the collapse

According to a BeinCrypto report, during the sell-off, CoinGlass — a popular analytics site — faced a sophisticated proxy attack that briefly disabled access to its data and services.

This interruption added to market confusion just as traders were scrambling for real-time information.

At the same time, a series of unusually large transactions occurred moments before several oracle updates.

These oracles — the systems that feed real-world prices into blockchain smart contracts — briefly mispriced certain assets, triggering automatic liquidations across multiple trading pairs.

The mispricing also caused some stablecoins to lose their peg temporarily, creating brief windows where arbitrage bots and high-frequency traders could profit.

Within minutes, millions of dollars moved between exchanges as automated systems responded to the volatility, deepening the market crash.

Was it a coordinated attack?

Not everyone believes this was an organic crash. Some analysts argue that the patterns of trades and timing of oracle updates suggest deliberate manipulation.

Data showed that the most extreme de-pegs affected pairs with known update schedules, while large-scale short positions were placed just before liquidation cascades began.

This has led to speculation that certain market actors may have exploited the structure of the crypto market itself — using automated systems and leverage mechanisms to engineer volatility.

The idea is that, rather than hacking wallets or stealing funds, attackers could manipulate the market by exploiting predictable behaviours in oracles, exchanges, and algorithms.

Still, other experts maintain that this was simply an overleveraged market reacting to stress.

When traders take on too much debt and sentiment shifts suddenly, cascading liquidations can happen without any external interference.

The synchronised nature of the event across multiple exchanges, however, continues to fuel debate.

What the crash revealed about crypto markets

Crypto Black Friday has exposed how fragile the digital asset ecosystem remains despite its growing size.

With $19.5 billion wiped out in hours, the event showed how quickly risk can spread when systems rely heavily on leverage, automated trading, and opaque liquidity pools.

Exchanges such as Binance have since launched internal audits and pledged to improve transparency, but experts warn that these are short-term fixes.

The real challenge lies in redesigning core systems — including how leverage is managed, how oracles feed data, and how liquidity is distributed across markets.

The incident has renewed calls for better on-chain oversight and global standards for crypto risk management.

For a trillion-dollar market to mature, analysts say it must balance innovation with stronger safeguards against both systemic shocks and sophisticated manipulation.

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Bitcoin, Ethereum rebound following ‘largest single-day wipeout in crypto history’

  • The crypto market suffered its “largest single-day wipeout in crypto history.”
  • Nearly $20 billion in liquidations were triggered on Friday alone.
  • The crash was sparked by President Trump’s new tariff threats against China.

It was a brutal and historic bloodbath, a sudden and violent purge that resulted in what one analyst has called “the largest single-day wipeout in crypto history.”

A promising “Uptober” rally was brought to a catastrophic halt on Friday as a geopolitical bombshell from the White House sent a shockwave of fear through the global markets, triggering a cascade of liquidations that erased nearly $20 billion from the digital asset space in a single day.

The carnage was swift and merciless. Over a harrowing seven-hour period, Bitcoin plunged from the relative safety of $121,000 to a grim low of $109,000.

The pain was felt across the market, with Ethereum dipping to $3,686 and Solana touching just above $173.

But the real story was in the leveraged positions that were being systematically annihilated.

The volatile session triggered a “flash crash of liquidations,” wiping out almost 7 billion across all markets within a single hour, with a staggering 5.5 billion of that coming from bullish long positions, Sean Dawson, head of research at Dervie, told Decrypt.

By the time the dust settled, the majority of the day’s nearly 20 billion in liquidations—a colossal 16.7 billion—had come from longs, according to CoinGlass data.

The presidential spark: A tariff threat ignites a firestorm

This was not a crypto-specific crisis; it was a contagion of fear sparked by the highest office in the United States.

The sell-off across both crypto and traditional markets followed President Trump’s stunning announcement that he was canceling a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and had ordered a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese imports.

The threat, which Trump himself acknowledged could be “potentially painful” for Americans, immediately sent risk assets into a tailspin.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 3.6 percent, the S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent, and the Dow dropped 1.9 percent, a clear sign that the market was taking the president’s words as a declaration of a new and more aggressive phase in the trade war.

The aftermath: A textbook relief rally

But just as quickly as the storm descended, a fragile calm began to return.

By the weekend, China appeared to soften its stance, and a market that had been gripped by panic began to recalibrate, with analysts suggesting the brutal rout may have been a brief, if violent, geopolitical overreaction.

Now, a powerful rebound is underway. “What we’re seeing is a textbook relief rally,” Dean Serroni, CEO of crypto investment manager Merkle Tree Capital, told Decrypt.

The recovery has been as swift as the crash was brutal. Bitcoin has surged 5% on the day to retake the $115,100 level.

Ethereum is leading the charge with an impressive 10.5% jump to $4,138, while major altcoins like Solana, BNB, and Dogecoin are soaring with double-digit gains.

Serroni explained the powerful bounce as “pure short-covering and mean reversion after the market overreacted to Trump’s tariff bombshell.”

He pointed to the “thin” selling pressure and the dramatic reset in open interest across derivatives markets, a sign that the carnage was primarily a technical event, a violent purge of “overleveraged derivatives traders” rather than a fundamental shift in the market’s long-term outlook.

His final verdict was a succinct and powerful summary of a wild and historic week: “This rout was a geopolitical knee-jerk, not a structural break.”

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Why Bitcoin could rebound up to 21% this week: experts explain

  • Bitcoin plunged 12% after Trump’s new China tariffs.

  • Crypto market saw $19B in liquidations amid panic selling.

  • Analysts predict possible strong rebound this week.

Bitcoin took a sharp plunge on Friday, falling more than 12% after President Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, sparking fears of a new trade war.

The news sent shockwaves through the crypto market, wiping out over $19 billion in liquidations and causing panic selling among millions of traders.

Bitcoin briefly dropped below $105,000 before bouncing back slightly.

This plunge mirrored broader market fears as investors rushed to safer assets, amidst uncertainty over escalating US-China tensions and economic stability.

But, in the face of deep uncertainty, some experts are keeping calm and asked investors to show some faith in the fundamentals of the flagship cryptocurrency.

Why Bitcoin can make a big rebound this week

As per Cryptonews.com, economist Timothy Peterson thinks there’s a good chance Bitcoin could make a strong comeback this week, possibly jumping as much as 21%.

Looking at historical data going back to 2013, he notes that October has actually been Bitcoin’s second-best month, averaging a gain of 20.1%, just behind November.

Big drops in October are pretty rare; they’ve only happened four times in the past ten years, and three of those were followed by sharp recoveries.

Even though Bitcoin recently dipped below $102,000 after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs, Peterson stays optimistic.

He points out that about half of October’s usual gains might already be in the books, but the rest of the month still looks favorable for a solid rebound.

Based on Bitcoin’s typical cycles of liquidity and market sentiment, analysts are hopeful that the month could end with Bitcoin regaining momentum and possibly breaking through some key resistance levels in the weeks ahead.

Why the latest crash is not unusual

Volatility is just part of life in the crypto world. Digital assets don’t just react to economic headlines; they are also highly sensitive to social media chatter, regulatory news, and tech developments.

Experts say that while these ups-and-downs can be risky, they also open the door for traders and investors who know how to ride the waves.

Historically, October tends to be a bumpy month for crypto, but these dips are often followed by strong rebounds as the market finds its balance.

Bottom line: the crypto space is fast-moving and unpredictable, with big risks, but potentially big rewards too.

Several factors drive this heightened volatility. For one, the market is still relatively young, so price discovery is ongoing, new investors and speculative trades can swing prices dramatically.

Unlike traditional financial markets, crypto isn’t heavily regulated, so announcements of new policies or legal actions can spark sharp reactions.

The fact that crypto markets run 24/7 only adds fuel to the fire, with no breaks or circuit breakers to cool things down.

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Deutsche Bank sees parallels between Gold and Bitcoin as central banks boost gold reserves

  • Deutsche Bank says gold now makes up 24% of central bank reserves, the highest share since the 1990s.
  • Analyst Marion Laboure sees parallels between gold and Bitcoin as safe-haven, low-correlation assets.
  • Deutsche Bank predicts both Bitcoin and gold could join central bank reserves by 2030.

Global central banks are expanding their gold holdings at a pace not seen in decades, a trend that could have major implications for Bitcoin, according to a new report from Deutsche Bank.

The bank’s strategists noted that gold’s share of central bank reserves climbed to 24% in the second quarter, its highest level since the 1990s, marking a renewed confidence in the precious metal amid shifting global monetary dynamics.

Deutsche Bank’s findings highlight how gold’s resurgence and Bitcoin’s momentum in 2025 share several common characteristics, particularly as investors and policymakers seek alternative stores of value in an uncertain economic environment.

Central Banks’ Gold accumulation reaches multi-decade highs

The report shows that official demand for gold has doubled compared to the 2011–2021 average, signaling an intensified effort by central banks to diversify away from fiat currencies.

The strategists described this as a “significant shift in global finance,” echoing patterns seen throughout the 20th century when gold played a dominant role in global reserves.

Gold’s renewed accumulation coincides with its climb past inflation-adjusted all-time highs.

Although gold prices have been setting nominal records for several years, Deutsche Bank noted that only recently has the metal surpassed its real-adjusted peak from 1980.

“It’s only in recent weeks that gold has finally surpassed its real-adjusted all-time highs from around this point 45 years ago,” the bank’s strategists wrote.

They attributed the decades-long gap between those milestones to a combination of factors, including central bank gold sales, institutional sell-offs, and the rise of the fiat currency era.

The report also recalled that gold’s formal role as a reserve asset ended in 1979 when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prohibited member countries from pegging exchange rates to gold — a move that cemented the end of the Bretton Woods system.

Bitcoin emerges as a modern parallel to Gold

Deutsche Bank’s macro strategist Marion Laboure explored potential parallels between gold and Bitcoin in a report titled Gold’s reign, Bitcoin’s rise.”

She observed that both assets have shown similar long-term performance patterns since their inception and share a reputation for high volatility and periods of underperformance.

Laboure emphasized that both gold and Bitcoin have a low correlation with traditional financial assets, making them attractive options for diversification.

These shared traits, she suggested, contribute to their appeal as potential “safe-haven” assets in times of market uncertainty.

While Laboure acknowledged that Bitcoin’s volatility and lack of backing remain major concerns, she noted that volatility has declined to historic lows.

Other challenges — including limited adoption, speculative behavior, cybersecurity risks, and liquidity constraints — continue to limit Bitcoin’s suitability as a mainstream reserve asset, but its trajectory is drawing increasing institutional attention.

Looking ahead: Bitcoin and Gold in central bank reserves by 2030?

Despite lingering skepticism among policymakers, Laboure predicted that both Bitcoin and gold could feature on central bank balance sheets by 2030.

The forecast reflects a gradual convergence between traditional and digital stores of value, particularly as institutional adoption of Bitcoin expands and governments explore ways to diversify their reserves.

Still, she cautioned that Bitcoin’s volatility and perceived risk profile remain key barriers for central banks, whose primary mandate is to preserve capital stability.

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Bitcoin drops as bearish data sparks a 10% price dip warning

  • Bitcoin has dropped below the key 120,000 dollar level amid a fresh sell-off.
  • The market is showing signs of low volume and a lack of upward momentum.
  • Key on-chain data shows a lack of bid support below the 120,000 dollar mark.

The triumphant return of the bulls has proven to be a fleeting and fragile affair.

Just as the market was beginning to celebrate a new era of price discovery, a wave of determined selling has sent Bitcoin tumbling back below the critical 120,000 dollar level, a brutal rejection that has the bears once again in control and raises the grim prospect of a much deeper correction.

The sell-off, which has seen the leading cryptocurrency fall nearly 3 percent on the day, is a story of fading momentum and evaporating support.

The recent all-time highs now feel like a distant memory as the market slices through the bid liquidity that had once held it aloft.

A market bracing for a deeper cut

The mood among seasoned traders has shifted from cautious optimism to a grim acceptance of a new, more bearish reality.

The market is now at a critical inflection point, with the very support that was so hard-won now under a sustained and powerful assault.

“Market does still quote bid liquidity around 121K-120K but what we need to see next is absorption of sellers to rule out a sweep lower,” the popular trader Skew wrote in his latest market commentary on X.

His short-term outlook was stark, adding that the market was “quite likely to be dominated by new shorts opening.”

This view is being reinforced by the data.

The trading resource Material Indicators highlighted that the market is now facing its “3rd consecutive Daily support test at the trend line,” a technical setup that suggests the bears are growing bolder with each attempt.

Data from CoinGlass paints an even more worrying picture, showing a distinct lack of bid support much below the 120,000 dollar mark, while a wall of sell orders has multiplied overhead.

The return of the $108,000 ghost

This short-term weakness is taking place against a backdrop of a more troubling long-term picture.

The veteran trader Roman warned his followers on X that the situation for Bitcoin remains tenuous, despite its recent record highs.

“A friendly reminder that we are once again printing more bearish divergences, low volume, & lack of momentum on HTF. Both 1W & 1M,” he wrote, pointing to a series of classic warning signs that the rally is running out of steam.

His conclusion is a chilling one for the bulls: the local range lows at 108,000 dollars, a level that has been a key battleground in the past, could soon come back into play.

The king of crypto may have briefly touched the heavens, but the bears are now doing their best to drag it back down to earth.

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