The impact of the weekend sell-off was significant. Ethena USDe, the third largest stablecoin, briefly lost its dollar peg. Binance, the largest digital asset exchange, experienced technical issues | Photo credit: bizoo_n
Most major cryptocurrencies recovered from steep losses suffered during a brutal sell-off over the weekend as US President Donald Trump sought to allay concerns about US-China trade.
According to CoinGecko data, the combined market value of all cryptocurrencies rose more than 6 percent on Monday to above $4 trillion. Bitcoin was trading at around $115,000 in London on Monday morning, after falling below $105,000 in the US on Friday. Smaller tokens also regained some ground, with Ether returning to around $4,100 after falling below $3,500.
The gains coincided with statements Sunday from Trump and Vice President JD Vance indicating openness to a deal with China that eases trade tensions. A record $19 billion worth of crypto bets were erased and crypto prices plummeted after Trump announced tough new tariffs on China on Friday. The leverage effect, which automatically led to selling and low liquidity at odd hours for global trading, caused further losses for traders.
“The recovery is driven by a conciliatory message from Trump,” said Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM. Most so-called altcoins – short for smaller tokens – are still trading well below their October 9 levels, Galvin added. “Looking ahead, as throughout 2025, overall risk remains high and the market is exposed to further trade escalation statements or other left-wing risks.”
The impact of the sell-off was far-reaching. Ethena USDe, the third largest stablecoin, briefly lost its dollar peg. Binance, the largest digital asset exchange, experienced technical issues. According to data tracker Coinglass, more than 1.6 million traders were liquidated.
Executives start the week wondering who will bear the brunt of the losses. So far they haven’t found any evidence of an eruption; a nagging fear in the crypto markets after previous collapses, such as that of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, led to a series of failures.
Funding rates — the interest paid by bullish traders to gain leverage on futures bets — have fallen to their lowest levels since around the time of the FTX’s implosion in 2022, one of “the most severe leverage resets in cryptocurrency history,” Coinglass said in a research note.
Caladan, a crypto market maker, said in a research note that the crash caused open interest in Bitcoin and Ether options to halve to $33 billion and $19 billion, respectively. This realignment will “provide a firmer foundation for pricing in the medium term,” Galvin said.
Bitcoin recently hit a record high of $126,251 on October 6 and continues to rise 23 percent this year, largely fueled by Trump’s pro-crypto policies in the US.
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Published on October 13, 2025
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