Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP extended their slide Tuesday as renewed US–China tensions deepened market jitters, sending silver surging to a record high.
Beijing announced sanctions on the US units of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean and warned of further action against the maritime sector, escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies and damping hopes of a near-term thaw.
Global equities fell, and the fallout rippled through digital assets, triggering another wave of liquidations that pushed major tokens to multi-week lows.
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Crypto Prices Tumble With No Resolution In Sight
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that talks with China are still on, but the uncertainty has left a dark cloud hanging over the crypto market.
After taking a breather from the recent downtrend, crypto prices have continued to fall in the past 24 hours.
BTC and ETH have dropped over 3% and 4%, respectively, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Ethereum is now down more than 15% in the past seven days and BTC over 10%.
The rest of the top ten biggest cryptos by market cap all fell, too. BNB, which recently set a new all-time high (ATH), has plunged 10%, marking the biggest loss in the top ten list.
XRP and Solana (SOL) fell 6% and 1%, respectively, while Dogecoin (DOGE), Tron (TRX) and Cardano (ADA) dropped 5%, 3%, and 6%, respectively. Overall, the crypto market cap dropped over 3%.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a popular tool used to gauge investor sentiment, slumped to a “fear” reading of 38 from a “greed” level of 70 just a week ago.
CoinGlass data shows liquidations in the crypto market surpassed $694.81 million in the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for $511.80 million of the total. Some short traders also got hit, with $195.31 million liquidated from trades that were against the market.
Silver Price Hits Record High, Along With Gold
The search for safe-haven investments sent to the silver price to a record high of $53 per ounce, taking its gains for the year to more than 85%.
Silver is often seen as a proxy for gold, which also soared to another all-time high earlier today.
Commenting on the performance of gold, silver and the crypto market, Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff warned that “crypto buyers are in for a rude awakening.” He also said that crypto investors will learn “a very valuable but expensive lesson.”
Gold and silver continue to melt up as Bitcoin and Ether continue to melt down. Crypto buyers are in for a rude awakening and will soon learn a very valuable but expensive lesson. Fortunately, most crypto owners are young with lots of time to earn back what they're about to lose.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) October 14, 2025
That’s after he said that Bitcoin’s flash crash this past Friday “wasn’t a buying opportunity but a warning.” He added that gold’s continued surge is “exposing the fiction that Bitcoin is digital gold.”
Meanwhile, renowned analyst Michael van de Poppe said that BTC’s recent correction is “nothing special,” and predicted that “volatility will remain high before there’s a clear new trend.”