Trump-Musk Twitter Feud Triggers $1B Crypto Liquidation, Bitcoin Dips Below $101K

A late-night Twitter feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent shockwaves through the crypto market, triggering a sharp sell-off and nearly $1 billion in liquidations. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly plunged below $101,000 before recovering slightly, while altcoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA) dropped over 6% in the past 24 hours.

According to CoinGlass, total liquidations reached $988 million, with $888 million from long positions — indicating a mass exit of bullish traders. Bybit led the losses with $354 million in liquidations, followed by Binance and other major exchanges. Bitcoin topped the charts with $342 million wiped out, while Ethereum (ETH) saw $286 million in liquidated positions.

Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin followed with $51 million and $27 million in losses, respectively. XRP (XRP) also faced $23 million in liquidations, and high-leverage trades on memecoins like 1000PEPE added to the market chaos.

The crypto crash came after Trump accused Musk of “going crazy” and threatened to cut off government contracts to his companies. Musk retaliated by referencing Trump’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, fueling market anxiety and triggering a cascade of liquidations.

Liquidations occur when leveraged traders can no longer meet margin requirements, forcing positions to close and accelerating downward momentum. Such wipeouts often signal overextended market sentiment and can precede price reversals.

The timing of this feud disrupted what had been a bullish trend in the crypto space, sparking a wave of profit-taking and renewed volatility across major cryptocurrencies. The CoinDesk 20 Index, which tracks top crypto assets, fell over 5% as the clash shook investor confidence.