Crypto Today: BTC, ETH, and XRP lead $1.4B capitulation on Black Monday as FTX denies $2.5B claims

Cryptocurrencies nosedived over the weekend, shedding over $300 billion since Friday. What some traders on social media are terming crypto’s Black Monday, losses come after an initial positive decoupling on Thursday, when US stocks crashed after China announced 34% retaliatory tariffs. 

Why is the crypto market down on Monday? 

The crypto market sell-off intensified on Monday after US President Donald Trump confirmed the administration will not be negotiating with China during a media interview granted on Air Force One on Sunday night. 

“Unless we solve that [trade deficit] problem, I'm not going to make a deal… Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” President Trump told reporters.

Bitcoin market updates: 

Bitcoin price declines by another 3% on Monday, consolidating around $78,950 at press time.

This comes after BTC shed 6% on Sunday, its worst performance since March 9, in response to Trump declaring “no negotiations with China”.

Bitcoin ETF Flows | Source: Farside 

Having posted $165 million worth of outflows in the closing two days of the last trading week, Bitcoin ETFs could potentially add to the sell-side pressure as the US trading session progresses on Monday. 

Altcoin market updates: $1.4B derivatives capitulation sends ETH, XRP, SOL prices spiraling 

Amid the intense volatility, derivatives traders have booked $1.4 billion in losses on liquidated futures contract positions. BTC traders saw the largest losses with $451 million worth of contracts.

However, BTC losses only accounted for 30% of total liquidations closed out in the last 24 hours.

This implies that investors are unwinding their altcoin positions at a much faster rate than the BTC capitulation. 

Crypto market liquidations, April, 7 | Source: Coinglass

As seen in the chart, Ethereum was the hardest hit altcoin with its $419.2 million in losses. Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL) traders saw $74.5 and $70.5 million of losses, respectively. 

With investors rapidly closing out their positions on the top-ranked crypto assets, it now raises major doubt that the sector's insulation from trade risks can withstand the turbulence from the resulting global geopolitical tensions. 

Validating this stance, Coingecko data shows ETH, XRP and SOL have all booked losses exceeding 15% in the spot markets, exceeding the aggregate crypto sector’s 10.8% decline on Monday.

 Crypto News Updates: 

• FTX bankruptcy estate denies customer claims worth $2.5 billion over KYC 

FTX’s bankruptcy estate has disqualified nearly 400,000 customer claims totaling up to $2.5 billion, citing failures to meet Know Your Customer (KYC) verification requirements.

A recent US bankruptcy court filing revealed the scale of affected claims, marking a significant development in the ongoing resolution of the collapsed crypto exchange’s obligations.

The KYC deadline was set as part of the broader claims reconciliation process. The disqualified claims reflect legacy issues tied to lax identity verification practices during FTX’s operational years.

As the estate moves forward with its restructuring, FTX has confirmed that it is preparing to begin repayments to primary creditors later this month with $11.4 billion already secured for distribution.

• Tether to launch US-compliant stablecoin in anticipation of new legislation

Tether has announced its readiness to issue a US-compliant version of its USDT stablecoin if proposed US stablecoin legislation is enacted.

The move comes as lawmakers consider regulatory frameworks to govern the rapidly growing stablecoin sector.

Tether (USDT) market data, April 7 | Source: Coingecko

With over $144 billion in USDT currently in circulation, Tether says the new token would align with its broader strategy to promote US Dollar usage globally.

• Federal agencies to submit Bitcoin and crypto holdings reports to Treasury on Monday

A White House official has confirmed that all federal agencies must submit their Bitcoin and crypto asset holdings to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent by Monday.

The directive follows President Trump’s March 6 executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile.

According to the March 11 presidential document, agencies were given 30 days to comply. While the government currently holds 198,012 BTC, worth roughly $16 billion, it remains unclear whether the submitted reports will be made public, as the executive order does not mandate disclosure.