Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Tumbles 7% Amid Trump Fed Pick and Shutdown News
Bitcoin slid 7% to around $82,000 on Friday as Asian markets opened to volatile trading. The move came after President Donald Trump signaled support for a bipartisan deal to avoid a fresh US government shutdown and said he has decided on his pick for Federal Reserve chair.
The crypto sell-off triggered a wave of forced liquidations. According to CoinGlass, $1.75 billion of positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with longs accounting for $1.65 billion and shorts just over $105 million. A total of 276,308 traders were affected.
Bitcoin led the damage, with $826.6 million in liquidations, followed by Ether at $428.5 million, while XRP and Solana saw hits of $72.4 million and $70.3 million, respectively.
Market Snapshot:
Bitcoin: $81,935, down 7%
Ether: $2,737, down 7.6%
XRP: $1.75, down 7%
Total crypto market cap: $2.88 trillion, down 5.9%
Stocks Show Uneven Moves as Risk Appetite Softens
Equities opened cautiously across Asia. MSCI’s broad index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%, while S&P 500 e-mini futures fell 0.4% and Nasdaq e-mini futures slipped 0.5%.
Traders were cautious after soft earnings from Microsoft in the US stirred concerns about whether its AI investments will deliver the returns investors expect. On Thursday, the S&P 500 ended down 0.1% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%.
Microsoft sank 10%, wiping more than $350 billion in market value after its cloud business underwhelmed.
Meta jumped 10% on strong AI-driven ad targeting and an improved Q1 forecast.
Apple projected up to 16% revenue growth for the March quarter, boosted by iPhone demand and a rebound in China.
Megacap Moves Add to Mixed Market Mood
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 held steady after core consumer prices in Tokyo rose 2% year-over-year, matching the Bank of Japan’s target.
The US dollar index rose 0.3% to 96.44, reacting to Trump’s Fed announcement plans.
Within US megacaps:
Tesla fell 3.5% after announcing plans to more than double capital expenditure.
Tech lagged across the S&P 500, while communication services outperformed thanks to Meta’s rally.
IBM gained 5% after beating Q4 expectations, adding to the mixed sentiment.
Crypto Traders Hunt for Stability
The liquidation data told the story of a market heavily skewed toward long positions. With more longs than shorts being forced out, crypto traders are searching for firmer footing as macro headlines and political developments keep risk appetite on edge.
