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Over $2 billion in crypto was liquidated after Trump’s tariffs fueled market panic, with Wintermute’s CEO attributing the crash to TradFi, not crypto insiders.
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More than $2 billion in cryptocurrency was liquidated due to traditional finance (TradFi) events, not industry participants, according to Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy.
At least $2.24 billion was liquidated from the crypto markets within 24 hours on Feb. 3 after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose import tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico.
During market downturns, crypto traders often blame market makers and institutional participants for deliberately crashing prices to create discount buying opportunities.
However, the last two crypto market crashes were caused exclusively by events outside the crypto ecosystem, according to Gaevoy.
The crypto market crashes of 2025 have been “directly linked to TradFi events” such as DeepSeek and Trump’s tariffs, the Wintermute founder wrote in a Feb. 3 X post:
“Understanding that our little crypto market is now very directly linked to the real world outside […] is pretty essential to being a (more) successful trader. But sure, you can ignore this information and choose to believe in a Wintermute + Binance conspiracy.”
Reasons for the crypto market crash. Source: Evgeny Gaevoy
Other analysts also attribute the crypto market crash to macroeconomic concerns over a potential global trade war caused by Trump’s tariffs.
“This significant downturn in the crypto market is largely driven by escalating concerns over a potential global trade war following President Donald Trump’s announcement,” said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.
Investor sentiment deteriorated further after Bybit CEO Ben Zhou estimated that crypto liquidations may have exceeded $10 billion, more than five times higher than previous figures.
Related: Bitcoin bottoms at $91.5K on global trade war fears, highlighting economic concerns
“We don’t hunt for stop losses, maybe we should” — Wintermute CEO
Following the market correction, some traders alleged that large crypto firms deliberately sold off assets to trigger a market crash and buy at lower prices.
Following the social media allegations, Gaevoy said the firm doesn’t “manipulate prices” or participate in other illegal activities, adding:
“We don’t “hunt for stop losses”. Maybe we should – my perception was always that it is a fairly risky business, so we managed quite well without.”
“Our onchain activities are very easily explained. Transfers are just us moving inventory between exchanges that ran out of inventory,” Gaevoy added.
Related: RWAs rise to $17B all-time high, as Bitcoin falls below $100K
Market makers, which provide liquidity to crypto markets, ensure that traders can buy or sell assets efficiently.
While they were not the cause of the crash, market makers can contribute to selling pressure during market downturns.
In August 2024, five of the top market makers sold a total of 130,000 Ether (ETH) worth $290 million while Ether’s price crashed from $3,000 to below $2,200.
Jump Trading, Binance deposit. Source: Scopescan
Wintermute sold over 47,000 ETH, followed by Jump Trading (36,000 ETH) and Flow Traders (3,620 ETH), according to blockchain analytics firm Scopescan.
Magazine: XRP to $4 next? SBF’s parents seek Trump pardon, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 26 – Feb. 1
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
