Share this article
Bitcoin slips below key support as tariff talk rattles crypto: Crypto Markets Today
Crypto prices fell alongside global equities after reports the EU is preparing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Updated Jan 19, 2026, 2:19 p.m. Published Jan 19, 2026, 11:52 a.m.
Make us preferred on Google
What to know:
- Bitcoin dropped to around $93,000, losing 2.5% since late Sunday and slipping back below the crucial $94,500 support level, risking a return to its mid-November trading range.
- Altcoins showed mixed performance: the CoinDesk 80 fell 4.64% over 24 hours but outperformed bitcoin-heavy benchmarks since midnight, while DeFi and layer-1 tokens saw losses in excess of 10%.
- The selloff triggered $815 million in liquidations across crypto markets, with $231 million tied to bitcoin, as derivatives positioning shifted and liquidity remained thin.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market traded lower on Monday following reports that the European Union is readying 93 billion euros ($110 billion) of tariffs in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump's threats about Greenland.
The tariff concerns sent equities in Europe and futures in the U.S. lower while haven assets gold and silver rallied to record highs.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Bitcoin failed to mirror the precious metals' move to the upside, with it currently trading at $93,000 having lost 2.5% of its value since 23:00 UTC on Sunday.
Altcoins showed mixed performance, with the altcoin-dominant CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) trading down 4.64% over the past 24 hours. Since midnight it's down 0.93%, outperforming the bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 (CD20), down by 2.5%.
Bitcoin is back below the $94,500 level of support after a short-lived breakout on Wednesday. It is now in danger of sliding back into a trading range between $85,000 and $94,500 that spanned back to mid-November.
Derivatives positioning
- The crypto market pullback hit bulls hard, forcing out leveraged long bets worth nearly $800 million in 24 hours for margin shortage. These so-called liquidations have crowded bullish leverage out of the market.
- Total notional open interest (OI) in crypto futures has declined by more than 2% to $138.14 billion.
- Bitcoin's OI has increased by 0.65% in 24 hours, while OI in ETH has held flat. For other major tokens, such as SOL, XRP, ADA, DOGE, SUI and LTC, it's dropped 8%-13%, pointing to massive capital outflows and risk aversion.
- Still, the 30-day implied, or expected, volatility in BTC and ETH has not seen a meaningful rise. In other words, traders don't expect fireworks in the near-term.
- Volatility differential between Deribit-listed BTC call and puts continues to remain negative across time frames, a sign of persistent downside fears. The same is the case in ether.
- Block flows for BTC have been balanced with traders chasing both put spreads and call spreads
Token talk
- Derivatives exchange Lighter's LIT token continued its plight on Monday, falling 10% since 23:00 UTC on Sunday.
- The slide coincided with HyperLiquid's return to the top of the derivatives table in terms of trading volume, spurred by dwindling interest in Lighter's platform after its December airdrop.
- The broader altcoin market was a mixed bag overnight; monero diverged from bitcoin at 23:00 UTC, rising by more than 13% as privacy coins remained the bullish trade of the year.
- Meanwhile, DeFi tokens like ETHFI, ENA and JUP all faced double-digit drawdowns overnight, while layer-1 networks APT and SUI tumbled by more around 10%.
- Medium market cap tokens underperformed the crypto majors, demonstrating a recurring theme around a lack of liquidity following October's liquidation cascade.
- Solana and failed to show immunity to the broader market drop, losing 6%.
- The tariff-induced selloff led to $815 million in liquidations, $231 million of which were attributed to bitcoin while the remainder hit the altcoin market, according to CoinGlass.
CORRECT (Jan. 19, 14:18 UTC): Corrects currency conversion and adds dropped word in first paragraph.
