Bitcoin erases nearly all of Tuesday’s gains as the Trump administration reportedly considers a potential escalation in its trade war with China.
After Tuesday’s quick rally following Fed governor Christopher Waller’s upbeat comments on crypto, markets fell sharply on Wednesday, Oct. 22, as reports surfaced that the Trump administration may limit a wide range of tech exports to China in response to Beijing’s rare-earth metals restrictions, sending U.S. stocks lower.
Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen back to around $108,000, erasing most of its 5% rally from the previous day that briefly pushed prices near $114,000.
Ethereum (ETH) also pulled back, down over 5% in 24 hours to about $3,839, while Solana (SOL), BNB, and XRP and other altcoins in the top 10 by market cap are all in the red, down between 1% and 6%.
As Glassnode explained in an X post, long-term holder (LTH) supply has declined by another 28,000 BTC since Oct. 15, meaning “LTHs have spent more coins than what was aging into their cohort from short-term holders,” which reflects “excessive net distribution rather than passive maturation.”
Meanwhile, QCP Capital analysts say tension headlines “persist but the tone is increasingly mixed, with tariff threats offset by renewed ‘deal’ talk.” In a Wednesday blog update, they also noted that “the only major hard data the Fed will see in the near term is September CPI, which the BLS made a one-off exception to publish on Friday, October 24. All other releases will remain frozen until the shutdown ends.”
Among the Top 100 crypto assets by market cap, ChainOpera AI (COAI) is the biggest gainer today, up 42%, followed by MemeCore (M), up 5.6% on the day.
Meanwhile, today’s biggest losers are ASTER and Mantle (MNT), down 15% and 10% respectively.
Data from Coinglass shows that in the past 24 hours, more than $619 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, with $472 million in long positions and $147 million of shorts wiped out. Bitcoin led with $210 million liquidated, followed by $157 million in Ethereum and $51 million in Ethena’s ENA token.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, spot Ethereum ETFs saw inflows of over $141.6 million, according to SoSoValue. Spot Bitcoin ETFs, in the meantime, recorded over $$477 million in net inflows, bringing total net assets above the $151 billion mark.
On the macro front, reports say the Trump administration is considering limits on tech exports to China in response to Beijing’s latest rare earth restrictions, Reuters has learned, citing a U.S. official and three people briefed by authorities.
The news hit markets almost immediately, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4%, further pressuring crypto markets.
