Can Trump’s tariff shift stop the bleed?

October 17, 2025

 

Reading time: 5 minutes

Markets hit by $1.2B liquidations, Trump’s tariff remark briefly steadies sentiment

Key points:

  • Bitcoin climbed nearly 2% after U.S. President Donald Trump said the proposed 100% China tariffs “won’t stand,” easing fears of a prolonged trade war.

  • The broader market showed tentative stability later in the day, after $1.2 billion in liquidations and a sharp Fear & Greed Index drop to 28 signaled peak market fear.

News - After a steep sell-off earlier in the day, global crypto markets showed tentative signs of steadiness on Friday after Donald Trump softened his stance on 100% tariffs against China, calling them unsustainable. The move followed a week of sharp declines that erased $230 billion in market value and drove total capitalization to $3.54 trillion.

Bitcoin briefly slipped below its 200-day simple moving average before hovering near $105,000, aided by a brief return of risk appetite among traders.

Major altcoins such as Ether, BNB, and Solana trimmed earlier losses of 7% to 12%, as major market indices tracking the top-traded crypto assets showed signs of partial stabilization after a 9% weekly decline.

Market sentiment and liquidations - CoinGlass data showed over $1.2 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated within 24 hours, 79% of them longs.

Even amid heavy unwinds, open interest held near $25.7 billion, suggesting that institutional positioning remained largely intact. Analysts described the correction as a “tactical liquidity event” rather than a structural reversal.

Gold, liquidity, and oversold signals - As credit-market stress drove gold toward $4,400 and Treasury yields below 4%, Bitcoin’s ratio against gold fell to its most oversold level since 2022. The 14-day RSI reading of 22 indicated strong selling pressure but also potential undervaluation versus the yellow metal.

With Trump’s softer rhetoric briefly easing macro tensions, traders now watch whether BTC can defend support near $100,000 to $99,500 and sustain any short-term relief in the coming sessions.

Ethereum’s Wall Street moment? Tom Lee, BlackRock, and a $3.7K support test

Key points:

  • BitMine’s Tom Lee compared Ethereum’s rise to Wall Street’s dominance over gold, arguing it could one day “flip” Bitcoin as the backbone of tokenized finance.

  • ETH held near $3,715 amid BlackRock’s $46.9 million purchase and $76.8 million in exchange outflows, signaling institutional demand despite short-term pressure.

News - Ethereum traded near $3,700–$3,750 on Friday as institutional buying and macro optimism clashed with persistent technical weakness.

BlackRock’s $46.9 million ETH purchase and a net $76.8 million outflow from exchanges highlighted renewed accumulation interest even as the token stayed capped under the $3,950–$4,100 EMA cluster.

Adding to the long-term narrative, BitMine’s Tom Lee drew parallels between Ethereum and Wall Street’s rise after 1971, when U.S. equities replaced gold as the market’s dominant store of value.

Lee predicted ETH could reach $10,000–$12,000 by 2025 and up to $60,000 by 2030, calling this a “working theory” rather than a certainty. Citizens Bank echoed that outlook, projecting a move beyond $10,000 within two years as staking, treasury absorption, and fee burns tighten supply.

Institutional tailwinds - BitMine disclosed holdings of 2.83 million ETH and plans to launch a staking solution as part of its strategy to own 5% of total supply.

On-chain data showed open interest at $45.6 billion and a continuing decline in exchange reserves, suggesting institutions are positioning early for Ethereum’s next phase of growth.

Developer momentum - Over 16,000 new developers joined the Ethereum ecosystem in 2025, reinforcing its dominance among smart-contract platforms.

Whether or not Lee’s “flippening” vision plays out, Ethereum’s growing Wall Street parallels, and BlackRock’s quiet accumulation, are keeping the spotlight firmly on the network’s long-term evolution.

XRP wobbles near $2.30 as shutdown delays ETF reviews and Ripple eyes $1B treasury raise

Key points:

  • Senate gridlock extended the government shutdown and stalled SEC work on XRP spot ETF filings, keeping timelines uncertain and sentiment weak.

  • Accumulation picked up even as price slid, with roughly 500 million XRP withdrawn from exchanges this week and open interest showing signs of rebuilding.

News - XRP stayed under pressure after another failed Senate vote prolonged the U.S. government shutdown, a development that keeps the SEC on a limited footing and delays reviews of XRP spot ETF applications. 

Price action remained fragile, with October losses deepening and Thursday’s close near $2.33 as traders weighed macro risks and policy uncertainty. At the same time, on-chain and flow data pointed to dip buying.

Exchange balances fell to a five-year low after about 500 million XRP, worth more than $1.25 billion, moved off exchanges, while correlation with Bitcoin near 0.82 limited any independent rebound.

Reports also indicated Ripple is arranging a new digital asset treasury structure to raise at least $1 billion via a SPAC to accumulate XRP, alongside its separate $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury to bolster corporate treasury infrastructure.

Market participants said these treasury and infrastructure moves could tighten float over time, though near-term price remains tied to macro and regulatory catalysts.

Levels and structure - XRP traded between $2.31 and $2.47 over the latest 24 hours, with support eyed at $2.31–$2.35 and $2.20–$2.00 below. Resistance sits at $2.47, then $2.58, with $3.00 as a higher Fib objective if momentum turns.

Indicators remained heavy, with RSI near low 30s, AO negative, and CMF below zero, consistent with a descending pattern.

What could move XRP next - Watch for a funding deal to reopen the government, any movement on XRP spot ETF filings, U.S.–China trade headlines, and broader Bitcoin direction. Open interest near $1.36 billion and renewed positioning suggest volatility risk on confirmation of policy or ETF timelines.

Uniswap adds Solana to web app, tackling DeFi fragmentation without launching new pools

Key points:

  • Uniswap’s web app now supports Solana, its first integration with a non-EVM chain, letting users connect Solana wallets and trade Solana tokens in the same interface as Ethereum and other networks.

  • Trades route through Jupiter’s aggregator, exposing Uniswap users to over a million Solana tokens and Solana’s high-throughput market, while Uniswap prepares cross-chain swaps, bridging, and full Wallet support.

News - Uniswap enabled native Solana connectivity in its web app, extending access beyond EVM chains and aiming to simplify a fragmented DeFi experience. Users can link Solana wallets and trade Solana-based assets alongside Ethereum and more than a dozen supported networks from a single interface. 

Uniswap framed the rollout as a step toward reducing friction caused by chain-specific apps, bridges, and wallets that split liquidity and user flows.

Recent data points to significant activity on both sides of the aisle, with Uniswap remaining one of the largest DEX fronts by volume and Solana sustaining double-digit billions in total value locked and heavy on-chain trading.

How it works - Rather than deploying new Uniswap liquidity pools on Solana, the web app acts as a front-end that taps Solana’s own market infrastructure.

Orders are routed through Jupiter’s Ultra API, which aggregates pricing across Solana venues and surfaces quotes inside the Uniswap interface. The approach lowers switching costs for users who previously had to leave Uniswap to access Solana markets.

What is next and what to watch - Uniswap says the Solana release is the first phase of a broader cross-chain plan that includes bridging, cross-chain swaps, and full Uniswap Wallet compatibility with Solana. These features are not live yet, so the immediate benefit is consolidated access rather than asset movement between chains. 

If the roadmap lands as described, Uniswap could become a more complete multi-chain hub. In the meantime, users should note that liquidity and execution on Solana remain dependent on Solana-native venues aggregated by Jupiter, not on new Uniswap pools.

Crypto scams uncovered

  • A new class of DeFi scam called Slow Liquidity Drain (SLID) siphons funds gradually from liquidity pools over long periods, making it harder to detect; researchers found >3,117 pools affected and $100M+ losses over time.

  • In September 2025, Zhimin Qian was convicted in London for laundering over £5 billion worth of Bitcoin, marking one of the largest crypto seizure and money-laundering cases across jurisdictions.

  • The U.S. DOJ seized ~$15 billion in Bitcoin tied to a global “pig butchering” scam led by Cambodia’s Prince Group, which allegedly used forced-labor compounds to run investment frauds.

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Top 3 coins of the day

OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP)

Key points:

  • TRUMP traded at $5.80, recording a 2.42% drop in the past 24 hours as bearish momentum persisted.

  • The Supertrend remained in sell mode since late July, while the ADX above 50 confirmed a strong downward trend.

What you should know:

TRUMP continued to struggle below the $6.00–$6.20 zone, where repeated rejections aligned with the active Supertrend resistance near $7.30. The DMI confirmed bearish control, with the –DI line far above the +DI and the ADX reading above 50 highlighting the strength of the current downtrend. Volume declined sharply from early-October peaks, suggesting momentum cooled but buyers remained sidelined. Beyond technicals, uncertainty surrounding the project’s proposed $200M Digital Asset Trust fundraising and broader risk-off sentiment in the crypto market kept traders cautious. Sustained closes above $6.20 are needed to hint at a potential short-term recovery.

Key points:

  • ADA was last seen trading at $0.61, reflecting a 4.08% daily decline as sellers maintained control near the lower Bollinger Band.

  • The CMF hovered near 0.09, showing limited inflows, while widening Bollinger Bands confirmed ongoing volatility.

What you should know:

Cardano extended its recent slide, with prices staying close to the lower Bollinger Band and facing rejection near the $0.76 midline resistance. The consistent trade below the 20-day SMA reflected weak recovery momentum despite elevated trading activity. The CMF’s near-neutral reading indicated subdued buying interest, suggesting that inflows failed to offset ongoing outflows. Broader market caution also weighed on ADA, as risk-off sentiment and derivatives-driven liquidations triggered capital rotation away from altcoins. For now, the $0.59 area serves as a crucial short-term support, while a daily close above $0.76 could help stabilize sentiment.

Sui (SUI)

Key points:

  • SUI changed hands at $2.39, recording a 5% daily decline as it stayed below the 9-day SMA ($2.75).

  • The Stochastic RSI hovered near 21.48, showing persistent bearish pressure, while trading volume eased slightly to 62.66M.

What you should know:

Sui’s downtrend continued, with the price failing to reclaim its 9-day SMA and maintaining a bearish tone throughout the session. The gap between the price and the short-term moving average reflected weak recovery attempts, while the Stochastic RSI signaled that sellers were still dominant despite nearing oversold territory. Trading volume receded from earlier spikes, hinting at fatigue among market participants. Beyond technicals, sentiment was weighed down by the recent Typus Finance exploit, which sparked broader concerns over Sui’s DeFi ecosystem, and by macro risk-off conditions that drove capital toward larger-cap assets. Immediate support rests near $2.25, with resistance seen around the $2.75 level.

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