After a tariff shock erased trillions in U.S. equity value and triggered crypto’s biggest-ever liquidation day, a cooler message from President Trump and a public apology/compensation plan from Binance helped stabilize risk sentiment

What started as a sweeping tariff threat morphed into a cross-asset rout: U.S. stocks shed roughly trillions in market value and crypto derivatives registered the largest single-day liquidation on record. By Monday, however, the narrative bent toward calm. President Donald Trump dialed down the rhetoric, saying the U.S. “wants to help China” and telling investors not to worry, while risk assets staged a relief bounce.

From shock to shakeout

Beijing’s tightened controls on rare-earth exports collided with Washington’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, sparking fears of a renewed trade war and snarled supply chains. The fallout: U.S. equities lurched lower (headline estimates put the U.S. stock value erased around the $2T mark intraday), safe havens surged, and crypto—now tightly coupled to broad risk—sold off in sympathy.

Within crypto, forced deleveraging did the damage. Multiple tallies pegged 24-hour liquidations near $19B, the biggest on record, as crowded longs were flushed and books thinned. Price-wise, Bitcoin knifed through key levels before stabilizing; Ether followed.

Then the tone changed

By late Sunday and into Monday, Trump adopted a more conciliatory posture—posting that China’s situation would be “all fine” and signaling the U.S. wanted to help, not hurt. That softer tone coincided with a dollar pullback and a rebound in U.S. equity futures and crypto benchmarks. Analysts framed the shift as classic threat-then-negotiate signaling that markets chose to fade.

Binance says “no excuses,” pledges compensation

As the dust settled, exchange plumbing moved to center stage. Binance announced a $283 million two-phase compensation program after a cluster of synthetic-asset depegs and technical glitches allegedly worsened user losses during the cascade. CEO Richard Teng said the firm would review affected accounts and strengthen risk controls—an implicit admission that venue-side frictions magnified pain. Several outlets summarized the plan and the exchange’s mea culpa.

How big were liquidations, really?

While most aggregators reported ~$19B in forced closes, some analysts argued the true figure could be vastly higher, citing exchange API throttles and undercounted events. One widely shared take put the effective wipeout as high as $300–$400B if you adjust for missing prints during peak seconds—an estimate that remains controversial but underscores the transparency debate.

Market response: relief, not euphoria

By Monday morning (UTC), U.S. futures were green and the dollar softer; gold stayed pinned near record highs, highlighting that the move was a stability bid more than a return to full risk-on. Bitcoin recovered part of Friday’s drop, hovering near the mid–$110Ks, as funding normalized and open interest rebuilt more cautiously.

What the episode taught—again

• Macro headlines now gate crypto beta. When policy shocks target supply chains and earnings visibility, crypto increasingly trades like a high-beta extension of equities. Tariff theatrics matter for BTC as much as for semiconductors.

• Plumbing matters in a hurry. Venue glitches and throttled data feeds can amplify cascading liquidations or obscure their true size in real time, complicating risk controls for both pros and retail. The Binance compensation pledge is an acknowledgement of that fragility.

• Aftershocks are common. Relief bounces happen fast; durable recoveries need calmer policy tape, steady funding, and spot-led flows—not just recycled leverage.

What to watch next (near term)

Policy tape clarity: Any detail on tariff scope, timelines, or carve-outs, plus signals from Beijing on export approvals. Markets care about specifics more than slogans.
Exchange follow-through: Implementation of Binance’s $283M plan and any published changes to liquidation/risk engines; whether other CEXs disclose interval liquidation counters or higher-frequency feeds.
Cross-asset tells: Equity breadth, semiconductors, and the dollar. A calmer DXY and firmer breadth typically raise crypto’s ceiling; renewed stress caps upside.

Bottom line

A tariff scare delivered a historic washout in crypto and a sweeping equity drawdown; a softer presidential tone and an exchange-level apology/compensation plan steadied the tape. The rebound is real, but so are the lessons: macro drives the regime, and market plumbing can turn headlines into cascades. Trade the ranges with respect for policy risk—and insist on better transparency from the venues you rely on.