Tuesday morning as fear spread across global markets. Traders rushed to sell risky assets after trouble appeared in Japans government bond market. At the same time new trade tension grew after the US president increased tariff pressure on Europe. Together these events pushed fear higher and confidence lower across crypto and traditional markets.
The sudden move below ninety thousand caused panic selling especially among short term traders. Many investors reacted emotionally as price moved fast and liquidations followed. This kind of move often happens when global news shocks the market and traders rush to protect their capital.
Privacy focused coins were hit harder than most. Monero fell more than eleven percent while Dash dropped close to nine percent. These coins had started the year strong but sharp selling erased recent gains. Another privacy coin Zcash also fell and is now trading near its lowest level since mid December. Internal issues earlier this month reduced confidence and selling pressure continued.
While prices fell across many assets the DeFi sector showed some strength. The total value locked in DeFi continued to rise and has been forming higher lows since late last year. This shows that people are still interested in earning yield even during market stress. Many traders are choosing to use stable assets to stay neutral while still generating returns.
Bitcoin derivatives data showed an interesting pattern. Open interest increased during the price drop. This suggests traders were opening short positions instead of selling spot holdings. In simple terms many traders are betting on further downside rather than exiting fully.
Ether showed a different trend. Open interest dropped along with price and trading volume increased strongly. This points to real selling rather than short positioning. Ether trading volume even surpassed Bitcoin over the last day which shows strong activity and pressure.
Despite the broad sell off a few smaller tokens moved higher. Some niche projects linked to infrastructure and technology posted gains. These moves were isolated and did not change the overall market mood which remained cautious.
In the wider financial world gold and silver surged as investors looked for safety. Some market commentators claimed that traditional safe assets are benefiting while risk assets suffer. Others pointed to problems in government bond markets as a warning sign for the global financial system.
A European pension fund announced plans to reduce exposure to US government debt. The fund stated concerns about long term sustainability and credit quality. While the amount involved was small the message added to uncertainty about what assets can truly be considered safe today.
Liquidations across crypto markets were heavy. Hundreds of millions in long positions were wiped out over two days making it the worst streak this year. This shows how quickly sentiment can change when fear enters the market.
Crypto related stocks also moved lower as selling pressure spread. Companies linked to digital assets saw losses reflecting the broader risk off mood.
Overall the market reaction shows how sensitive crypto remains to global events. When bonds currencies and politics collide fear rises fast. For now traders remain cautious watching macro signals closely and waiting for stability before taking new risks.
