YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) —The crypto market entered a sharp downturn over the weekend, now labeled as Crypto Black Monday.
In two days, over $1 billion was liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. This included both long and short positions, with most traders losing bets on rising prices.
On Saturday, April 5, the market saw $116.59 million liquidated. Of that, $83.57 million came from long positions, while $33.02 million were short. The situation worsened on Sunday, with liquidations reaching $850 million. Out of this, $743.11 million were long, and $107.88 million were short.
In total, 320,444 traders faced liquidation, based on CoinGlass reports. As panic spread, crypto asset prices fell and sentiment turned negative.
XRP Price Drop Leads Market Losses
The XRP price drop was the most severe among top cryptocurrencies during the Crypto Black Monday crash. According to TradingView, XRP fell by 26.38%, reaching $1.76777 in the 4-hour chart ending April 7. The price moved below the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which was down by 13.35%. Trading volume reached 2.66 million, showing strong selling activity.
The Ethereum price drop reached 40.39% against the US dollar based on Coinbase data. The decline began in early April and accelerated after April 5. The breakdown came with no visible support, showing persistent downward pressure.
Bitcoin also fell sharply. Based on Bitstamp, the BTCUSD pair dropped 16.5%, trading near $76,247.07 on April 7. The decline deepened over the weekend and mirrored broader market weakness.
Crypto Market Cap Shrinks by $310 Billion as Prices Drop
The total crypto market cap fell to $2,493,064,915,533 on April 7, marking an 11.1% loss in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. This confirms that the selling pressure continued into Monday, wiping out more than $310 billion in value over the weekend.
The 24-hour trading volume rose to $177,856,204,388, signaling high levels of activity. Major assets suffered double-digit losses. Ethereum traded at $1,497.01, down 16.4%. XRP dropped to $1.77, losing 15.4%. Bitcoin reached $76,247.07, down 7.6% on the day.
These declines adjusted the market caps of the top assets. Bitcoin held a market cap of $1.51 trillion, Ethereum stood at $179.54 billion, and XRP fell to $101.40 billion.
Search interest also surged. Google Trends showed peak global queries for “Black Monday” on April 6 and 7, reflecting growing public focus on the selloff.
Analysts Refer to Historical Black Monday
The term Crypto Black Monday refers to the original Black Monday of October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6%. Over the weekend, analysts drew comparisons between the current market behavior and that historical crash.
An analyst known as Maine posted, “Tomorrow is shaping up to be Black Monday 2.0.” On X, this phrase was repeated as traders highlighted the scale of the recent selloff.
The Kobeissi Letter, a financial newsletter, tied the ongoing crypto losses to rising concerns over Trump’s proposed tariffs. In a post on X, the publication said bearish sentiment had climbed to one of the highest levels in history. It also noted that the phrase “Black Monday” had become the consensus view among investors reacting to economic uncertainty.
The post included a recent AAII Sentiment Survey, which showed 61.9% of members were bearish for the week ending April 2, 2025. This reading is double the historical bearish average of 31.0%. Only 21.8% were bullish, compared to a historical average of 37.5%. The data also revealed a sharp drop in neutral sentiment, indicating market participants had taken more extreme positions.
According to The Kobeissi Letter, it “would take a lot to not see at least short-term capitulation this week,” highlighting the pressure building across risk markets.
Market analyst Duo Nine said the tariffs could weaken global supply chains and productivity. He warned the crypto market crash could extend for 1 to 2 years if global recession conditions appear.
“If the US does not make a U-turn soon, then the only conclusion is that this is intentional and the damage will only increase with time. Unfortunately, for crypto, this means the start of a prolonged bear market. It can last 1–2 years or more if a global recession starts,” he wrote.
Other Analysts Dismiss 1987 Comparison
Not everyone agreed with the Black Monday label. Ryan Wollner, founder of Pearpop, called for caution in drawing parallels between 2025 and the 1987 crash. Responding to a post comparing the two selloffs, Wollner pointed out that the 1987 crash involved a market drop of nearly 45%, while the current decline measured closer to 14%. He argued that this gap made the term Black Monday 2.0 misleading.
In a follow-up post, Wollner suggested that the current market situation may be part of a 2–3 week transition. He added that investors could return once the Trump tariffs are better understood. According to him, capital may shift into private industry or US-based companies, which could stabilize the broader economy even if markets remain under pressure.
Wollner also stressed that the current downturn lacked characteristics of past recessions triggered by fraud. He stated that in previous crashes, money was “literally wiped out,” whereas the present decline may reflect a temporary adjustment due to policy changes, not systemic failure.
The events of April 6 and 7 marked a concentrated downturn across crypto markets. Over $1 billion in liquidations, combined with rising Trump tariff concerns, drove steep declines in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. Indicators such as trading volume, sentiment surveys, and search trends confirmed the scale of the shift. The phrase Crypto Black Monday now defines the weekend where macro policy and market fragility converged.