Ethereum ripped higher on Sunday, surging 8% in a single day to reclaim the $4,000 level and trade at $4,111, data from CoinGecko showed.
The rebound came less than 24 hours after the token slid to $3,861, when global markets collapsed under the weight of new trade war fears and what is now the largest single-day crypto liquidation in history.
The disaster went down late Friday, right after Wall Street closed for the weekend, leaving the proudly-24/7 crypto market to handle the panic, as Cryptopolitan reported.
Interestingly, the crash now looks like a full-blown misunderstanding between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. On October 9 at 8:30 a.m. ET, China had quietly announced new export controls on rare earth minerals, but it wasn’t a ban.
The rules simply required export applications that “meet regulations.” For more than a day, the news barely moved markets. Then Trump jumped in with a social post accusing Beijing of restricting vital exports, and just like that, traders across stocks, oil, and crypto hit the sell button.
China clarifies as the White House softens its tone
Beijing tried to calm Washington Saturday night, clarifying that its new export policy was not an embargo and that qualified shipments would still be approved. That clarification helped cool global tension and restore investor appetite.
Trump’s earlier post about 100% tariffs on Chinese goods suddenly looked like political theater. Analysts now see the odds of those tariffs taking effect as “extremely low.”
Trump also took to Truth Social with a different tone, writing, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!! President DJT.”
By Sunday, his administration appeared to be walking things back. The White House signaled that it was open to a deal with Beijing, aiming to reduce tensions that had flared since Friday. Vice President JD Vance urged China to “choose the path of reason,” saying Trump held more leverage if the standoff dragged on.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described China’s export measures as “a power grab” but said talks would continue. “It’s become very clear to everybody that this power grab by the Chinese won’t be tolerated,” Greer said on Fox News’s The Sunday Briefing.
The Representative added that markets were reacting normally and that “these measures aren’t in place yet,” predicting conditions would stabilize as traders realize the timeline for any real action.
Trump’s Friday announcement had promised 100% tariffs, restrictions on U.S. software exports, and potential halts on aircraft parts starting November 1, but then he said, “We’re gonna have to see what happens. That’s why I made it November 1. We’ll see what happens.”
China’s Commerce Ministry quickly responded, telling Washington to stop threatening new tariffs and to return to negotiations to “resolve outstanding trade issues.” Officials pointed out that several new export restrictions wouldn’t take effect until November and might not even be fully enforced.
Vance later told Fox News he’d spoken to Trump twice over the weekend. “The president appreciates the friendship he’s developed with Xi,” he said. “We have a lot of leverage. And my hope, and I know the president’s hope, is that we don’t have to use that leverage.”
