Degen Digest: April 9, 2025
Analysis of the recent crypto market crash driven by tariff wars and fake news, plus Binance's mass delisting of inactive tokens and what it means for the ecosystem.
Apr 09, 2025
TL;DR
- Market Crash: Intensifying tariff wars triggered a "Black Monday" with Nasdaq plummeting, dragging down crypto.
- BTC dropped to 74k, ETH fell to $1400 (levels not seen since March 2023).
- Fake News Volatility: A fabricated news story about Trump's 90-day tariff pause caused Nasdaq to spike from 17,200 to 18,200 before crashing back down when debunked.
- Exchange Cleanup: Binance is accelerating its delisting process, removing 14 inactive tokens at once, with monthly cleanup procedures expected moving forward.
Table of Contents
- Intensifying Tariff War Causes Black Monday
- Binance Starts Mass Delisting of Inactive Tokens
- Market Outlook and Recommendations
1. Intensifying Tariff War Causes Black Monday
Last Friday, the Nasdaq100 dropped to the 17k range, yet Bitcoin showed remarkable strength by holding steady in the 81k-83k range despite the index's decline. However, the situation deteriorated rapidly by Sunday evening when a sharp sell-off began.
By Monday, markets worldwide experienced a substantial shock:
- Nasdaq pre-market opened with a massive 5% gap down
- Global indices suffered severe declines upon opening
- BTC plummeted to the 74k range
- Major altcoins broke critical support levels:
- SOL fell below $100
- XRP dropped under the $1.8-2 range
- Ethereum crashed to $1400 levels (reverting to March 2023 prices)
After several consecutive days of Nasdaq decline, short-term buyers attempted to capitalize on a potential bounce. Then came the fake news catalyst.
A fabricated story claiming President Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China began circulating on X (formerly Twitter) and was even picked up by live news outlets. This single piece of misinformation triggered an astonishing market reaction:
- Nasdaq surged from 17200 to 18200 in a remarkably short time
- The White House quickly refuted the story as "fake news"
- Markets promptly surrendered all gains once the truth emerged
This volatility stems from a fundamental tension: President Trump is deliberately pressuring markets and the economy to force the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates soon. However, Fed Chair Powell made it clear in recent interviews that near-term rate cuts are unlikely. With both sides holding firm, this tariff war shows no signs of resolution.
The current market analysis reveals challenging conditions unprecedented in recent memory:
- BTC no longer experiences the sharp 2-3% minute candles that were once common
- Price movements have become unpredictable, making bottom identification nearly impossible
- Unlike previous cycles where markets retested lows providing buying opportunities, recent patterns show single bottoms followed by relentless upward movements
- News sources (especially those originating on X) have become increasingly unreliable
- Positions in profit can reverse instantly due to unexpected statements from key figures like Trump (the "real market maker")
2. Binance Starts Mass Delisting of Inactive Tokens
On April 8th, Binance announced the results of its previous delisting community vote, deciding to simultaneously remove 14 coins from its platform. This marks a significant shift in strategy - while previously the exchange would delist only 3-4 tokens quarterly without community input, they've now established a monthly process of:
- Monitoring and flagging tokens
- Community vote
- Mass delisting
The first batch of tokens to be delisted on April 16, 2025 includes:
- BADGER
- BAL
- BETA
- CREAM
- CTXC
- ELF
- FIRO
- HARD
- NULS
- PROS
- SNT
- TROY
- UFT
- VIDT
This cleansing process appears necessary for long-term market health. The cryptocurrency ecosystem has accumulated too many abandoned projects where:
- Teams sell all tokens at unlock periods
- Social media accounts and development are abandoned
- Projects post meaningless roadmap updates on X to create an illusion of activity
- Token foundations propose additional token issuances, which they themselves approve, to increase already 100% unlocked supplies
Bybit is also aggressively pursuing similar spot delistings. However, for meaningful impact, Korean exchanges (which provide substantial altcoin liquidity) should join this movement.
Upbit conducted its last mass delisting of 22 tokens approximately 5 years ago but hasn't repeated such actions since. Both Upbit and Bithumb would benefit the ecosystem by removing inactive projects.
Several concerning trends highlight why this cleanup is necessary:
- Projects like Enjin (previously listed on Tier 1 exchanges) are proposing token increases despite being fully unlocked
- Some are attempting mergers with lower-tier exchange tokens as backdoor listings
- STMX and Burger were delisted from Binance due to similar practices
- HIFI and numerous other tokens are engaging in these liquidity extraction techniques
3. Market Outlook and Recommendations
The current trading environment presents exceptional challenges. Based on our analysis, we recommend:
For Conservative Investors
- Do nothing. This is an extremely difficult market to navigate.
- If you must take action, approach with extreme caution and skepticism.
For Active Traders
- Trust nothing at face value. Question every news item, especially those originating from X.
- Verify information through multiple reliable sources before making decisions.
- Be prepared for unprecedented market movements that don't follow historical patterns.
For Long-term Holders
- Focus on quality projects with active development and transparent foundations.
- Avoid tokens from inactive projects attempting to extract additional liquidity through supply increases.
- Consider the exchange delisting wave as a positive long-term development for market health.
Conclusion
We're witnessing a perfect storm of macroeconomic tensions, regulatory uncertainties, and market mechanics creating extraordinary volatility. The intensifying tariff war combined with mass delisting of inactive tokens presents both immediate challenges and long-term opportunities for market health.
During these turbulent times, caution and verification become your most valuable tools. The market will eventually find its equilibrium, but the path there promises to be anything but predictable.
This report represents the views of the SnapX Research Team and should not be considered financial advice. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
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