Bitcoin fell below $112,000 in Tuesday afternoon trading Hong Kong time as China’s trade retaliation sent a fresh wave of risk aversion through global markets.
Bloomberg reported earlier Tuesday that China had sanctioned U.S. units of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, a move that reignited fears of a spiraling trade conflict with Washington, just days after both sides showed restraint.
Stocks in Asia fell, stock futures in the United States and Europe followed, and crypto traders were again forced to reduce their risks after a brief weekend rebound.
Contracts linked to the S&P 500 fell 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 its losses and strengthened against the dollar. Gold and silver both erased earlier gains in heavy afternoon selling, while 10-year Treasury yields fell to near 4.03% as investors turned to safety.
Crypto once again followed the risk. Bitcoin fell 3% to $111,869, Ethereum fell 4% to around $4,000 and BNB slipped more than 10% after outperforming last week. XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin have all fallen between 5% and 6% in the past 24 hours.
Total liquidations reached $630 million, with long positions accounting for two-thirds of the wipeout, according to CoinGlass.
The correction continues a volatile period that began last week with US President Donald Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports – a shock that triggered the largest cryptocurrency liquidation event on record.
Nearly $20 billion in positions were wiped out on derivatives markets in 24 hours, according to Hyperliquid data, before a short-lived rebound over the weekend.
The latest slide continues to show how crypto remains closely tied to global macroeconomic risk, with an earlier bounce from Sunday almost completely reversing.
