Crypto markets were rocked by an unprecedented crash between October 10 and 11, 2025, as over $19–20 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in a span of just 24 hours. The turmoil, which left approximately 1.6 million traders wiped out in a single day, was triggered by a surprise announcement from former President Donald Trump. On October 10, Trump took to Truth Social to declare a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, effective November 1, alongside new export controls. This move, citing what Trump called China’s “extraordinarily aggressive position on trade” and its export restrictions on rare earth minerals, sent shockwaves through global financial markets, but nowhere was the impact felt more dramatically than in the world of digital assets.
According to data from Coinglass and corroborated by multiple outlets including The Economic Times and DLNews, more than $7 billion in crypto positions were sold in under an hour during the peak of the sell-off. Some estimates suggest that, when all is said and done, the total liquidations could exceed $30 billion. The event is now being described as the largest single-day liquidation in crypto history, surpassing even the infamous crashes of COVID-2020, FTX-2022, and LUNA-2022.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was not spared. It plummeted roughly 16% from its recent all-time high near $125,000, briefly dipping below $105,000 before staging a partial recovery to the $111,000–$112,000 range by October 12. Ethereum and other major altcoins fell between 15% and 40%, with some smaller tokens losing as much as 80% of their value. For example, XRP dropped about 31%, and Dogecoin nearly 39%. The carnage wasn’t limited to digital assets; U.S. equities also took a hit, with the Nasdaq falling 3.6% and the S&P 500 down 2.7% on October 10, though the brunt of the storm was clearly borne by crypto.
The volatility overwhelmed centralized exchanges, most notably Binance—the world’s largest crypto trading platform. As order books jammed and accounts froze, traders were left unable to act as prices swung wildly. Binance’s customer service channels were quickly flooded with complaints. Yi He, Binance’s co-founder and head of customer service, issued a public apology: “Due to significant market fluctuations … some users have encountered issues with their transactions. If you have incurred losses attributable to Binance, please contact our customer service to register your case. We will review your account activity individually, analyze the situation, and provide compensation accordingly.” Only losses caused by Binance’s system failures would be covered, not those from general market moves.
Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, echoed this message, stating the company would take responsibility “without making excuses.” Binance soon announced a 72-hour payout plan, with compensation for users affected by the dramatic depegging of Ethena’s USDE, Binance’s BNSOL, and WBETH tokens. Losses occurring between 05:36 and 06:16 UTC on October 11 would be covered, calculated as the difference between the liquidation price and the market price around 08:00 UTC that day. Users whose losses fell outside the automatic compensation window could still submit a support ticket for manual review, according to official Binance communications and coverage from TodayOnChain and FXDailyReport.
In the aftermath, Binance pledged to strengthen its risk controls, promising to tighten price indexes and run more frequent real-time risk checks to prevent future glitches. “Our team is currently conducting a thorough review of the impacted users… and the appropriate compensation measures,” the company wrote in its October 11 support announcement.
While centralized exchanges struggled, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms proved their mettle. Uniswap, Ethereum’s leading decentralized exchange, set a new daily volume record of $10 billion on October 11, handling the chaos with no downtime. Lending protocol Aave liquidated $180 million in collateral within an hour, again without a hiccup. Michael Bentley, co-founder of Euler, remarked, “That stress test was wild, but DeFi worked flawlessly.” The contrast couldn’t be starker: while centralized order books jammed, automated smart contracts executed trades and liquidations without pause. This episode has become a rallying cry for DeFi proponents, illustrating the resilience of trustless protocols that lack a single point of failure.
Yet, even amid the chaos, there were bright spots for some. Binance Coin (BNB) had just reached a new all-time high of approximately $1,190 before the crash. Market reports from TS2.Tech noted that Binance saw record net inflows of $14.8 billion in Q3 and accounted for about 40% of global crypto trading volume. BNB’s market capitalization topped $163 billion, and optimism for its future remains high, with some analysts predicting a $2,000 price target for 2025. Regulatory clouds have also thinned, as the U.S. SEC dropped its case against Binance in May 2025, and reports suggest the company may soon be free from Department of Justice oversight imposed in 2023.
Looking ahead, expert sentiment remains cautiously optimistic. Bernstein, a leading research firm, reaffirmed its $200,000 Bitcoin target by early 2026, citing strong institutional demand. Crypto forensic specialist Joshua Duckett noted, “Right now, we’re kind of in a rebound-to-stable position. Tomorrow is a new day.” Historical trends also offer hope: October has often been a bullish month for Bitcoin, with analyst Timothy Peterson predicting a 21% upside if past patterns hold. Crypto strategist Samson Mow captured the mood with a quip: “There are still 21 days left in ‘Uptober’.”
Still, not everyone is ready to sound the all-clear. CoinDesk’s market team warned, “all bets are off if U.S.–China tensions continue.” Billionaire investor Ray Dalio advised caution, recommending that investors hedge volatility by holding about 15% of their portfolios in gold.
For those new to crypto, buying Bitcoin on Binance remains straightforward, despite the recent volatility. The platform offers direct purchases via credit card, bank transfer, or peer-to-peer trading, supporting over 100 local currencies and more than 700 payment methods. Binance recommends completing identity verification and then selecting the preferred purchase route; the process is guided step-by-step and supported by detailed tutorials.
As of October 12, Bitcoin trades around $111,000–$112,000, Ethereum hovers near $3,000–$3,200, and BNB is just below $1,170. Most analysts view the recent crash as a temporary setback in a continuing bull cycle, with many calling it a buying opportunity—albeit with the caveat that geopolitics and prudent risk management should not be ignored.
In a week that will be remembered as a stress test for the entire crypto ecosystem, the sector showed both its vulnerabilities and its strengths. Centralized platforms faced their limits, DeFi protocols shone, and the market’s long-term faith—though shaken—remains remarkably resilient.
