Crypto market crashes amid trade wars and yen surge
Crypto took another punch today as Bitcoin slid through $92,000 and dragged the rest of the complex with it. Total market value fell another 2% to 3%, landing around $3.08 trillion to $3.21 trillion. Meanwhile, Ethereum dropped about 4% to near $3,000, and XRP and other large caps followed in a broad, fast sell-off.
The price action felt less like a single bad headline and more like a funding problem meeting geopolitics. Traders who spent months leaning long into “number go up” trades suddenly had to find dollars, cut risk and stop out. Therefore, liquidations ran ahead of spot selling, and futures positioning snapped back.
Why the market cracked
First, Japan became the unwanted centre of gravity. Japanese bond yields pushed to multi-year highs, which strengthened the yen and squeezed one of the longest-running trades in global markets. For years, investors borrowed cheap yen and parked the proceeds in higher-risk assets. However, once the yen rises, that trade turns vicious, and crypto sits right in the blast radius.
Politics in Tokyo added fuel. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s tax cut pledges raised the market’s odds of tighter policy ahead. As a result, Bitcoin fell sharply from near $98,000 toward the low $90,000s, and the selling quickly spread across majors.
Second, tariff threats returned to the foreground. Donald Trump’s posts about a Greenland takeover and fresh tariff talk aimed at NATO allies such as the UK, Norway, Sweden and Denmark rattled broader risk sentiment. Meanwhile, gold pushed above $4,600 as traders reached for something that does not need leverage or faith in a funding market.
Crypto’s plumbing then did the rest. Roughly $500 million of Bitcoin longs were liquidated in about an hour, and futures open interest fell to $136 billion from $146 billion. Consequently, the market lost its marginal buyer at the worst moment, because forced selling does not wait for better bids.
Technicals, sentiment and the danger level
Veteran chartist Peter Brandt warned of a bearish channel, with bulls needing to reclaim $104,000 to change the tone. Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index stayed in “Fear”, and wave-based analysts discussed a “Wave IV” correction with $71,000 to $84,000 as the rough target zone.
Still, panics rarely move in a straight line. Shorts have piled into BTC around key levels, and liquidation heatmaps show crowded positioning near $90,000. Therefore, a hold above that line could trigger a short squeeze, even if the larger trend stays heavy.
Pockets of strength, and a lot of noise
- Short interest builds: BTC positioning looks crowded, which raises squeeze risk if $90,000 holds.
- Ethereum’s stake base stays firm: Staked ETH sits near 30% of its all-time high despite price stress.
- Solana patterns draw eyes: Some traders cite a rare bullish setup as network metrics improve.
- Cardano accumulation: Whales reportedly added about 210 million ADA over three weeks.
Elsewhere, the tape looked like a typical late-cycle mix of big promises and ugly accidents. Grant Cardone floated a plan to hold 10,000 BTC for a 2026 treasury “test”, while ETF-led “long-term” narratives tried to compete with near-term outflows and de-risking. Meanwhile, token-specific blow-ups kept landing, which made “just HODL” sound like a luxury product.
DeFi and RWA keep building, even as prices fall
Under the surface, real-world-asset projects kept shipping. Tharwa’s thUSD, a Sharia-compliant stablecoin backed by sukuk, gold, UAE real estate and sovereign debt, integrated with Real Finance’s DeFi ecosystem. It mints 1:1 versus USDC, USDT or DAI, targets lower volatility, and caps any single asset at 33%. However, the market barely cared today, because macro shocks drown out good product news.
Meanwhile, traders also watched talk of a 24/7 blockchain venue for tokenised stocks, Bermuda’s on-chain ambitions with Circle and Coinbase in the mix, Pump.fun’s $3 million startup fund, and a MegaETH mainnet stress test set for Jan 22. Therefore, builders kept building, even though the screens stayed red.
Token failures and security scares return
Several smaller tokens collapsed on idiosyncratic drama. Trove fell about 95% amid a Hyperliquid-to-Solana pivot, WhiteWhale slid about 60% after a $1.3 million meme dump, and MakinaFi suffered a hack of 1,299 ETH. Meanwhile, Pi Network faced pressure with roughly 4.6 million tokens unlocking daily, and Dogecoin charts flashed a potential double-top as open interest faded.
Regulation and governance still matter
On the policy front, Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong met bankers around a market-structure bill, while Vitalik Buterin criticised token voting in Ethereum DAOs. India also pushed the idea of a BRICS CBDC bridge in response to tariff threats. Therefore, while price is moving on macro today, the industry’s rulebook remains in motion too.
By the numbers
- Bitcoin: below $92,000 after sliding from about $98,000.
- Ethereum: about $3,000, down roughly 4%.
- Total crypto market cap: roughly $3.08 trillion to $3.21 trillion.
- Liquidations: roughly $500 million in BTC longs in about an hour.
- Futures open interest: $136 billion, down from $146 billion.
Key takeaways
- Watch the yen and Japan rates first, because they set the tone for deleveraging.
- $90,000 in BTC looks like the immediate battlefield, with squeeze risk above it.
- Gold above $4,600 signals a real risk-off bid, not just crypto-specific fear.
- DeFi and RWA launches matter longer term, but macro funding stress can swamp them short term.
- Token-level blow-ups usually rise during drawdowns, so size positions as if headlines will worsen.
