Black Monday 2025: The Market Shock and Bitcoin’s Journey to Recovery
April 7, 2025, has gone down in global financial history as “Black Monday,” as both the stock market and cryptocurrency markets plummeted. It was the biggest shock since the COVID-19 pandemic, raising fears of a new recession as trade tensions sparked by the Trump administration spread globally.
The Trigger: “Liberation Day” and the Global Tariff War
It all started on April 2 – dubbed “Liberation Day” by some – when President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on goods from dozens of countries, not just China. The tough moves against Canada, Greenland, and traditional allies sent global markets reeling.
While there were rumors of a possible 90-day tariff suspension on countries other than China, the White House quickly dismissed it as “fake news,” further spreading panic.
Bitcoin and the Cryptocurrency Market Crash
Cryptocurrency markets suffered heavy losses:
Bitcoin (BTC) lost 7.7% of its value in just 24 hours.
Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP fell between 15% and 20%.
Over $600 million in leveraged positions were liquidated across the market.
While not the worst day in Bitcoin history, Black Monday 2025 is still one of the most severe shocks since the FTX collapse in 2022.
Global stock markets are red
Hong Kong saw a 13% drop - the worst since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Nikkei (Japan) lost nearly 8%.
South Africa fell 9% after being hit with a 30% tax.
Europe opened sharply lower, but recovered slightly and closed down 4.7% - equivalent to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.
In the US alone, although Nasdaq recorded its largest one-day amplitude since 2008, the market closed down less than 1%, thanks to temporary bottom-fishing money.
What does history teach about post-crisis recovery?
Bitcoin has been through several major crashes in the past and has always shown remarkable resilience:
March 2020 (COVID-19): BTC dropped 50% in a single day, but recovered completely in less than 2 months.
April 2013 (Mt. Gox ceases trading): BTC dropped nearly 50% in a single day, but doubled by the end of the month.
November 2022 (FTX goes bankrupt): BTC dropped 15% in a single day and took months to recover, thanks to whales like Michael Saylor buying aggressively.
This time, the resilience is still there, despite the more complicated global political and economic picture.
What’s next?
“Liberation Day” is just the beginning of the climax of uncertainty, according to Michael van de Poppe, founder of MN Consultancy. He believes the tariffs could last six to 12 months, but the market will adjust as big investors learn the “new rules of the game.” Still, tensions between countries have not eased, and factors like recessions, interest rate fluctuations, and the withdrawal of venture capital could make the recovery take longer than in previous cycles.
