On the stormy seas of finance, a rare and violent tempest has erupted once more. Hedge funds, once hailed as the hunters of the market, have now become startled birds caught in the eye of the storm. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, they are now facing the largest wave of "margin calls" — a flood of red notices from Wall Street demanding: your chips are running low, top up your positions.

Behind the scenes, the unexpected trade war triggered by Trump has lit the fuse. Tariffs, like giant boulders hurled into the sea, have not only stirred up towering waves but also wiped out $5.4 trillion from global stock markets. This storm isn't just about numbers falling — it's about a collapse of confidence, a chilling wind sweeping. Through investors' hearts, and the floor beneath them began to give way.

When the foundation of the market begins to crumble, even the most seasoned traders can lose their footing. Hedge funds have become like gamblers at a casino, suddenly realising all they have left is loose change. In a single night, they frantically threw chips onto the table — and the result? Their Thursday stock sell-off ranked among the highest in history, on par with the panic during the 2023 regional banking crisis and the 2020 pandemic crash. Had they not previously tightened positions and lowered leverage, they wouldn't be simply cutting losses now — they'd be facing outright collapse. Yet even so, this financial earthquake has shaken even the traditional haven: gold. On Friday, gold prices saw a rare 2.9% drop. Yes, even gold was tossed overboard as a desperate lifeline — sold off for cash, just to meet those spine-chilling margin calls.

Even more unsettling is that the bond market has been swept into this great escape.

Data from Bank of America's Intercontinental Exchange reads like a wildly fluctuating ECG: the premium required by investors to hold speculative-grade corporate bonds jumped by a full percentage point in a single day, climbing to 4.45%. This marks the largest one-day surge since the lockdowns of 2020. The fear behind it?

Concerns that Trump's tariff storm could usher in economic weakness, a wave of bankruptcies, and soaring unemployment. The first to feel the chill are those at the far end of the economic chain - home goods sellers, retailers, and auto parts manufacturers. These businesses were already struggling to survive on thin financing, and now the bond spread has breached the 10% threshold for the first time, dubbed by the market as "the stinkiest of junk." Meanwhile, gold funds have seen a long-lost boom. Investors, echoing the mindset of the early pandemic, are flooding back in. This isn't just disappointment in the stock market — it's a deep anxiety about the entire economic trajectory.

It all feels like a financial version of Game of Thrones: winter is coming, and no matter how tall your walls once stood, once confidence crumbles, the throne may soon change hands. The margin calls, the market tremors, the bond market panic, and the dramatic tum in gold — all are reminders that even if you wear a suit of armour worth billions, you can still turn to dust overnight in a financial storm. And this entire maelstrom was triggered by just one declaration of tariffs from Trump. Whether a rebound lies ahead or deeper whirlpools wait in the wings, no one can say for certain.

But one thing is clear: the market is writing its most tense chapter since 2020, and the hedge funds can only shiver in the wind, waiting for either the next sunrise or the next thunderclap.