President Donald Trump’s weekend announcement of escalating tariffs on eight European nations over Greenland triggered $875 million in crypto liquidations within 24 hours, with Bitcoin sliding 3% to $92,000 as traders slashed risk exposure.
Trump declared via Truth Social that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland will face 10% tariffs starting February 1, escalating to 25% by June 1 “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
The move drew immediate condemnation from European capitals, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling for activation of the EU’s “trade bazooka,” an anti-coercion instrument designed to block US market access and impose sweeping restrictions on American goods and services.
CoinGlass data showed that $788 million of the total liquidations came from long positions, while shorts accounted for just $83 million. This heavy but moderate liquidation shows that traders were caught betting on the upside when geopolitical risk materialized. Hyperliquid led exchange liquidations totaled $262 million, followed by Bybit at $239 million and Binance at $172 million, with long positions accounting for over 90% of forced closures across all platforms.
Leveraged crypto positions unwound rapidly as the announcement hit markets during US holiday closures, amplifying volatility through thinned liquidity.
“At present, open interest is showing signs of a gradual recovery, suggesting a slow return of risk appetite,” CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated today, though the tariff shock threatens to reverse that momentum. Beyond crypto, US stock futures fell 0.7% for the S&P 500 and 1% for the Nasdaq, while European equity futures dropped 1.1% amid a risk-off mood spreading across asset classes.
Bitcoin futures open interest, which had recovered 13% from early January lows, is now facing renewed pressure, despite analysts noting that deleveraging could create stronger support for future rallies.
“The fact that this threat was on social media instead of distilled into an executive order and it has a delayed implementation means a lot of investors might just decide to wait things out before overreacting,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, suggesting volatility may ease once markets digest the announcement.
However, Gold surged 1.5% to record highs in the flight to safety, while the dollar weakened 0.3% against the yen.
