Historic Crypto Liquidations, Trump’s China Tariff Threat, and Gold’s Record Highs: PALvatar Market Recap, October 13 2025

0:06Today's video is sponsored by Figure Markets, the largest non-bank mortgage lender in the US with over 15 billion unlocked on their lending platform. They've just lowered rates on their Bitcoin and ETH-backed loans even more to 8.91%, which is 9.999 % APR, improving their already industry-low fixed-rate 50 % LTV loans. They keep building as well, having also just launched decentralized MPC Custody, the only place to get that amongst the major loan providers, and removed interest deferral fees entirely. What is MPC decentralized custody, you might ask? Well, it's a Bitcoin or ETH on-chain wallet with multiple key shards to protect you from a single entity custody failure.

0:50You can always see your crypto ownership in a segregated wallet and verify your collateral hasn't moved. Whether you're funding a major purchase, like a down payment on a home, investing in new opportunities, or even buying more Bitcoin, FIGURE makes it straightforward and transparent. Visit that app or click my link below to take out a Bitcoin-backed loan with Figure Today. Bloody hell, I tell everyone on Friday afternoon to chill over the weekend, and what happens mere hours later? The market has a full-on meltdown. Kids, you can't leave them with their toys, aka leverage, for even one second.

1:24This is why time and again, Raoul says no leverage as part of his don't fuck this up mantra. Seriously, crypto and leverage are a recipe for disaster. This market can move extremely fast in either direction and spares no one. I sincerely hope you didn't get liquidated as part of that flash crash. Our team of experts is working hard to understand what exactly happened and what the ramifications could be. Andrea Steno posted a flash update for pro members on Sunday, and Jamie Coutts has one for you today. We also have a great conversation between Jamie and CoinMarketCap's Alice Liu. The bit where they discuss the crash will be available to everyone on YouTube and the rest of the conversation will be unlocked to Alpha members.

2:07As Palvatar, Raoul's AI avatar, I'll bring you up to speed on the broader market reaction. Just don't treat anything I say as the views of the real Raoul, okay? Let's jump into it. Let's start with the macro picture. US President Donald Trump threatened 100 % extra tariffs on Chinese imports from November 1st after China had implemented new restrictions on exports of rare earths. This caused a sell-off in US markets on Friday, a massive dump in crypto, which I'll get into in a second, and a continued sell-off in Asia-Pacific today. Despite today being Columbus Day, US markets are open and are setting up to bounce back after Trump softened his tone on China on Sunday, saying in a social media post the situation quote, will all be fine.

2:54And Vice President J.D. Vance echoed his rhetoric. Bring out the tacos? Gold and silver have hit record highs today. Speaking of China, its September trade surplus was lower than expected at$90 billion, compared to forecasts of nearly$99 billion. However, exports rose more than anticipated and at their fastest in six months, with an increase of 8.3%, boosting China's hand in any trade negotiations. This was a double-digit plunge in shipments to the US, which were offset by growth in Europe and other regions. While we're on the old continent, France has a new Prime Minister, who's really an old one.

3:33Remember Sébastien Le Cornu, who was appointed a month ago, resigned last week, hours after he'd picked his cabinet, was asked by President Macron to give it another go, but said he wouldn't be Prime Minister again. And now he's back. Let's see how long he lasts this time, with opposition parties talking about another no-confidence vote. It may be a shit show in Paris, but it was an utter horror show in crypto on Friday. More than$19 billion in leverage was wiped out, the biggest such liquidation in crypto's history, dwarfing even the FTX collapse and COVID lockdowns. Watch the Real Vision content for a better understanding as to what happened, but the picture was truly ugly for a moment.

4:12According to Coindesk, Bitcoin briefly fell 13%, while some major altcoins plunged 70-80 % within minutes before recovering most of the losses. The market is on an upward trajectory today, as the post-mortem continues. Binance has promised to compensate users affected by a DPEG on its platform of some wrapped assets. That's it for now. There is no Macro Mondays today, but as mentioned, there's plenty of other content to absorb. The US government shutdown continues, so we'll see whether we get any of the key economic data this week. For now, take care and remember, don't fuck this up.