Crypto markets experienced a new wave of panic on April 7, with the Bitcoin fear & Greed Index reaching 23, meaning Extreme fear — its lowest level in several weeks.
Open interest on Bitcoin futures fell to $34.5 billion, according to Glassnode data, continuing a steep pullback from $38.5 billion in late March.
Though there was a brief bounce back to $33.8 billion on April 3, positions continued to close. This leads to volatility as traders de-risk based on the softening price momentum, with crypto-margined contracts soaring to above 20% of total open interest, a trend getting attention from some. This rising leverage could amplify the market’s reflexive downside.
The instability comes from President Donald Trump’s claim that “there is no inflation,” along with pressure for the Fed to reduce rates.
On his own social media platform, Truthsocial, Trump pointed to declining oil, food, and interest rates, touting tariffs as a huge economic win for the U.S. He cited China’s 34% increase in tariffs to retaliate and blamed previous American leadership for weakness.
He also said, “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”
Equity markets, however, had a violent reaction. The Nasdaq nose-dived 5.73%, the S&P 500 lost 5.97%, and the Dow futures plunged more than 850 points — taking risk assets down with them. The mix of macro tensions, tariff fears, and high leverage in crypto futures is feeding fears that a wider market crash could be on the way.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $77,068.14, as per Kraken price feeds. This number is roughly 6.64% decline since the last 24 hours. Further, more than $1.4 billion in crypto positions over the last 24 hours has been liquidated, which follows over $3 billion in lost open interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum alone, indicating a violent market shakeout.