• Crypto market crashes Monday (Apr 7), loses $200B+ as tariff fears hit risk assets
• ETH plunges 19 percent below $1.5k, SOL below $100; majors suffer double-digit losses
• Whale liquidations ($77M ETH risk, $213M BTC moved) add fuel; market RSI deeply oversold

The cryptocurrency markets took a dramatic nosedive in the early hours of Monday, resulting in billions being erased from the overall market value. This sea of red was especially stark for alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins). Bitcoin (BTC) wasn’t spared, falling by 9.65% to $75,000, but Ethereum (ETH) got hit even harder, plummeting 18.57% to approximately $1,465.

Why Is the Crypto Market Crashing Hard Monday?

This sudden market downturn appears to be a direct response to mounting fears of a recession, sparked by President Trump’s newly aggressive approach to global tariffs.

With fresh tariffs kicking in over the weekend – some as high as 54% on goods from China – and even more expected on April 9th, panic selling swept across global risk assets. Cryptocurrencies initially seemed to dodge the $6.5 trillion stock market slump last week, but this separation didn’t last, as heavy selling kicked off Sunday night and intensified into Monday morning, pulling crypto down with it.

How Badly Are ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, BNB Hit?

The altcoin market was especially hard hit, experiencing what some are calling brutal losses:

• Ethereum (ETH): Experienced a sharp 18.57% crash to around $1,465, marking its lowest point since October 2023. Trading volume went through the roof, spiking by 474%!
• Solana (SOL): Took a tumble of 18.32%, falling below the $100 mark to around $97.36. Trading volume also surged, jumping by 276%.
• XRP: Suffered a significant 19.25% crash down to about $1.68.
• Cardano (ADA): Dropped by 18.10% to approximately $0.5227.
• Binance Coin (BNB): Wasn’t immune either, losing 10.40% and settling around $529.40.

Adding insult to injury, the ratio of ETH to BTC plummeted to 0.02089, hitting a near five-year low. This was confirmed by journalist Colin Wu, underscoring just how much Ethereum was underperforming Bitcoin in this downturn.

Related: Two Crypto Views, One Outcome? CZ Sees Froth, Hayes Sees $1M BTC Catalyst

Are Whale Liquidations Fueling the Sell-Off?

It seems that a wave of liquidations is making the crash even worse. On-chain data from Lookonchain indicates that whales have moved over 500,000 ETH. One particularly large ETH holder is facing potential liquidation of 53,074 ETH, worth around $77 million, on MakerDAO. This comes after they already suffered losses of $19.58 million in previous market turbulence.

Meanwhile, another whale was in a mad dash to avoid liquidation on their massive $340 million ETH position. They managed to repay DAI and add more collateral, successfully lowering their liquidation price to $1,119 – a critical level that, if breached, could set off further liquidation cascades.

BTC whales also appeared to be feeling the pressure, as over 2,700 BTC, valued at around $213 million, were deposited to Binance, likely for selling. Adding to the drama, one whale reportedly cut their losses, exiting the market at a substantial $2.53 million loss after incorrectly calling the market bottom.

Data from Coinglass reveals the sheer scale of the sell-off, with nearly $758 million worth of bullish leveraged positions being liquidated across the entire market in just the last 24 hours.

How Oversold Is the Market Now?

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization chart took a steep dive, breaking through previous levels of support and hitting $2.34 trillion, according to one analysis of a 4-hour chart. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), a key market momentum indicator, also plummeted on the same timeframe, reaching a deeply oversold level of 17.84 – well below the oversold threshold of 20.

Related: Crypto Funding Rates Indicate Indecision: BTC, ETH Show No Strong Bias

While these kinds of deeply oversold levels often suggest a potential rebound is on the horizon, the intense fear in the market and the continuing liquidations mean it’s crucial to proceed with extreme caution. Fibonacci analysis indicates that if current support levels fail to hold, we could see further drops, potentially down to $2.2 trillion or even $2 trillion for the total market cap.

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