Starting February 1, the United States will impose additional tariffs on eight European countries.
Written by: Mahe, Foresight News
On January 19th, around 7 AM, the cryptocurrency market experienced a sudden flash crash. BTC prices plummeted in a short period, falling from a low of $95,531 to a low of $91,910; ETH fell from $3,350 to a low of $3,177; and SOL dropped from $143 to a low of $130. Some Altcoin, such as SUI, XPL, and ASTER, saw 24-hour declines exceeding 10%.
According to Coinglass data, $830 million in positions were liquidated across the network in the past 12 hours, of which $764 million were long positions. The largest single liquidation in the past 24 hours occurred on Hyperliquid, involving a BTC-USDT perpetual contract worth $25.8337 million.
Meanwhile, traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and silver bucked the trend and rose to record highs. Spot gold climbed above $4,690 per ounce, setting a new all-time high, with a daily gain of over 2%. Spot silver climbed above $94 per ounce, also setting a new all-time high, with a daily gain of over 4%.
U.S. stock markets are closed today. The U.S. dollar index fell 0.26% to 99.14. U.S. stock futures opened lower, with S&P 500 futures down 0.71% and Nasdaq futures falling as much as 1.1%. U.S. 10-year Treasury futures rose 5 points, and 30-year Treasury futures also rose 5 points.
The Fear & Greed Index in the crypto market has fallen back to 45.
This incident is not an isolated event, but rather the result of a combination of macroeconomic factors and geopolitical tensions.
Trump wields the tariff weapon again, imposing tariffs on eight European countries starting February 1st.
Last year's "1011 crash" in the cryptocurrency market was triggered by Trump's tariffs on China, and now this scene is playing out again.
On January 18, Trump posted on Truth Social Media that, due to the Greenland issue, starting February 1, all goods exported to the United States from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would be subject to a 10% tariff. By June 1, the tariff would increase to 25%. This tariff would remain in effect until an agreement was reached on the "complete and total purchase of Greenland."
In his post, Trump stated, "Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland have all traveled to Greenland for unknown purposes. This poses a very dangerous situation for the security, safety, and survival of our planet. These countries are playing an extremely dangerous game, and the risks they pose are intolerable and unsustainable. Therefore, in order to protect global peace and security, strong measures must be taken to bring this potentially dangerous situation to a swift and indisputable end."
Furthermore, according to CNBC, after Trump threatened tariffs on European allies over Greenland, several European leaders took a hard line, emphasizing that Greenland's sovereignty was non-negotiable and warning that the move would further tear apart transatlantic relations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa stated that pressuring allies with tariffs would damage EU-US relations and could trigger a "dangerous vicious cycle." EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said that tariffs would only harm shared prosperity, distract Europe from its priorities on Ukraine, and allow adversaries like Russia and China to "reap the benefits." Furthermore, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that further aggressive action by the US in Greenland would have a significant impact on NATO. Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states plan to hold an emergency meeting to coordinate a response.
On the same day, Bloomberg reported that Senate Democrats planned to introduce legislation to block Trump from imposing tariffs on European countries that oppose the U.S. annexation of Greenland. This followed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's criticism that the move would damage the U.S. economy and relations with allies.
According to the latest data from Polymarket, the market bets on a 20% probability that Trump will acquire Greenland by 2027.
Tariffs and geopolitical concerns have led investors to seek refuge in gold and silver, resulting in capital outflows from cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, the probability of the Federal Reserve holding rates steady in January is extremely high. According to Polymarket data, the market is currently betting on a 96% probability of no rate cut, putting pressure on risk assets.
On the evening of January 18th, CoinKarma, a cryptocurrency trading indicator analysis platform, published an article stating, "BTC rose to nearly $98,000 this week, but when it approached that price level, the market experienced the most significant selling pressure in recent weeks, causing a slight pullback. However, overall liquidity between buyers and sellers has not yet shown a significant imbalance and remains relatively balanced. Other key market indicators have not yet shown clear signals. Based on the current situation, long positions entered at relatively low points at the beginning of the year may consider taking profits, choosing to close all or part of their positions, and waiting for clearer signals before re-entering the market."
Veteran crypto investor Dan Tapiero stated, "If I were to invest $10,000 in crypto assets in 2026, I think I could allocate the funds directly to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. As for how to allocate them specifically, that depends on my personal preferences."
Dan Tapiero believes the biggest opportunity in the cryptocurrency space in 2026 lies in the adoption of infrastructure and stablecoins. Tapiero predicts Bitcoin will reach $180,000 in this cycle, citing the combined effect of increased demand and a shift in global monetary policy. Lower interest rates and massive government investment in AI infrastructure will be strong positive factors. This global impetus is causing all fiat currencies, including the US dollar, to depreciate. This is very favorable for Bitcoin.
