Crypto Hit Hard: Binance Sells ETH, Trump’s Tariffs Shake Markets

Just after reports emerged that Bybit had fully replenished its Ethereum balance—totalling over $1.4 billion worth of ETH—Binance began selling off its Ethereum holdings. This triggered the initial sell-off yesterday, but by this morning, things had worsened.

As the American market woke up, selling momentum continued. Not only did Bitcoin and the broader crypto market decline, but traditional markets also took a hit—the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 0.35% and 1.07%, respectively, within the first hour of trading. The market, already in a fragile state, did not need another shock. But then came the next blow: Trump reaffirmed that 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go ahead.

This news broke at 7:33 AM AEST, when Bitcoin was trading at $94.5K. Within the next two hours, Bitcoin had fallen to a key support level of $92.5K, marking a 4% daily decline, with most altcoins down over 10-15%.

Sentiment is low, but technically, Bitcoin is still holding up. The best play right now? Accumulate Bitcoin and pick up undervalued altcoins that have been performing impressively despite the recent consolidation and bearish momentum.

Stormrake Spotlight: Sonic (S) ($0.81)

Long-time readers of the Morning Note will remember that Fantom was a Stormrake Spotlight favourite—for good reason. Despite weak price action in the month or two following the migration, Sonic was delivering exceptional on-chain performance. While many were bearish on S, we remained bullish, recognising that its impressive metrics would eventually be reflected in price action. Over the past few weeks, that has finally played out—Sonic has surged from $0.31 at the start of February to nearly $1.

The market has taken notice. Sentiment around S remains bullish, even as Bitcoin and the broader market consolidate and turn bearish. Not only has Sonic outperformed Bitcoin, but it has also attracted major inflows from other blockchains. Developers and users are leaving Solana and other leading chains to move over to Sonic. This is just the beginning…

BTC/USD Key Levels and Price Action:

Bitcoin has fallen below the key $92.5K level. If we don’t see a swift reclaim, we can expect a retest of $90K. Everything on the short-term chart remains bearish—there’s no discussion of bullish price action until Bitcoin finds a level of support, whether that’s at the CPR level of $91.2K or the range low of $90K.

BTC Total ETF Flows for 24 Feb: $ -65.7 million

ETH/USD Key Levels and Price Action:

After showing decent strength in recent days, Ethereum has given it all back in the past 24 hours. Not only has momentum flipped bearish, but ETH has also fallen through the bottom of its range, breaking the key $2,556 level. It is now sitting at the CPR level, and with the bullish structure broken, ETH’s only hope is for this CPR level to hold, leading to consolidation rather than further downside.

ETH Total ETF Flows for 24 Feb: $ -20.1 million

*All prices are denominated in USD unless stated otherwise*

Written by Alexandar Artis

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