Today in Crypto: Bitcoin slumped as Europe considered firing a “trade bazooka” at the US, market analyst Michaël van de Poppe says CLARITY Act stalling is actually good news for the industry, and an expert warns that nearly four out of five crypto projects that suffer a major hack never fully regain their footing.
Bitcoin down, gold futures up as Europe threatens “trade bazooka”
Bitcoin fell almost $3,500 on Monday as Europe hinted at retaliatory measures against US President Donald Trump, who threatened new trade tariffs unless negotiations could begin over Greenland.
Over the weekend, Trump announced plans to impose 10% tariffs starting Feb. 1 on imports from several European countries — including Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland — as part of a broader escalation tied to Greenland tensions.
The rate could rise to 25% by June if no agreement is reached.
The European Union is preparing its own potential response, including up to €93 billion in previously delayed retaliatory tariffs and the possible use of its Anti-Coercion Instrument (“trade bazooka”) should the US duties go ahead.
Bitcoin prices dumped 3.6% in a matter of hours, falling from $95,450 to just below $92,000 on Coinbase in early trading on Monday morning, according to TradingView.
Around $750 million in long positions were liquidated in four hours, bringing total 24-hour liquidations to over $860 million, according to Coinglass. The asset had marginally recovered from its weekly low, trading at $92,580 at the time of writing.
CLARITY Act stalling is actually good news for the crypto industry: Analyst
The CLARITY crypto market structure bill stalling and failing to advance is positive for crypto markets and the broader industry, according to market analyst Michaël van de Poppe.
Van de Poppe cited the list of concerns about the bill outlined by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in an X post on Wednesday.
The concerns include a ban on tokenized stocks, government access to user records on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and expanding the prohibition on yield-bearing stablecoins. Van de Poppe said:
“I think if the bill were approved in its current form, it would have had a very bad impact on the markets in general. So, now, all the parties are aligned to continue the discussion.”
The CLARITY Act is one of the major pieces of crypto regulatory legislation in the US, alongside the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a regulatory framework for US dollar stablecoins.
80% of hacked crypto projects never “fully recover,” expert warns
Nearly four out of five crypto projects that suffer a major hack never fully regain their footing, according to Mitchell Amador, CEO of Web3 security platform Immunefi.
Amador told Cointelegraph that most protocols enter a state of paralysis the moment an exploit is discovered. “Most protocols are fundamentally unaware of the extent to which they are exposed to hacks, and are not operationally prepared for a major security incident,” he said.
According to Amador, the first hours after a breach are often the most damaging. Without a predefined incident plan, teams hesitate, debate next steps and underestimate how deep the compromise may go. “Decision-making slows as teams scramble to understand what happened, leading to improvization and delayed action,” he said, adding that this is frequently when additional losses occur.
Projects often avoid pausing smart contracts out of fear of reputational damage, while communication with users breaks down entirely. Amador warned that silence tends to amplify panic rather than contain it.
“Nearly 80% of projects that suffer a hack never fully recover,” he said. “The primary reason is not the initial loss of funds, but the breakdown of operations and trust during the response.”
