Donald Trump's tariff pause sparks huge short liquidations and insider trading probe

Short sellers in the crypto market were hit hard on April 9, suffering their third-largest loss of 2025 after Bitcoin staged an unexpected rally.

The surge followed President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to pause tariffs for 90 days on most countries, excluding China. After a week of heavy selling, this move sparked a swift rebound in risk assets, including stocks and crypto.

According to data from CryptoSlate, Bitcoin surged more than 5% during the trading session, briefly crossing $83,000 before settling at $81,905 at press time. The rebound came after a week of significant selling pressure tied to broader macroeconomic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Ethereum led the altcoin charge with a 10% jump to $1,639. XRP and Solana followed with gains of 9% and 7%, respectively, while BNB recorded a more modest increase of 4.4%.

Coinglass data shows that the rally caught bearish traders off guard, as many had expected continued downward pressure amid ongoing macro uncertainty.

According to the data, total liquidations on April 9 reached $589.41 million, with short positions accounting for $374 million of the losses. This marked the third-highest daily short seller loss this year, behind the $542 million on March 2 and $469 million on February 3.

‘Insider trading’

The sudden market rally has drawn political scrutiny, with several lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, calling for a formal investigation into potential insider trading linked to the tariff announcement.

Their concern centers on Trump’s timing and the tone of his social media posts before the policy shift.

Just hours before the tariff pause, Trump posted an unusually bullish message on his Truth Social account, saying:

“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

That last line raised eyebrows. DJT is the ticker for Trump Media and Technology Group, which also saw gains during the broader market rally.

Considering this, Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged regulators to examine whether the president’s actions benefited allies or donors. She warned that using trade policy to influence market sentiment for personal or political gain could signal deeper ethical concerns.

Warren wrote:

“I’m calling for an investigation into whether President Trump manipulated the market to benefit his Wall Street donors—all while working people and small businesses paid the price.”

Senator Adam Schiff echoed those concerns, pointing to the volatility caused by abrupt tariff shifts. He questioned whether anyone within the administration had advanced knowledge and used it to profit from market swings.

Schiff stated:

“Who in the administration knew about Trump’s latest tariff flip flop ahead of time? Did anyone buy or sell stocks, and profit at the public’s expense?”