On Thursday, Bitcoin dropped below $82,000 as the significant new tariffs set by U.S. President Donald Trump unsettled Wall Street and caused altcoins to tumble.
The prominent cryptocurrency fell by 5.8%, landing at $81,732, as reported by crypto data provider CoinGecko. Solana, currently the sixth-largest digital asset by market capitalization, dropped 12% to a 13-month low of under $113.
Dogecoin, the very first and still leading meme coin by market value, fell 10% to approximately $0.157. Additionally, XRP, linked to Ripple, experienced a decline of 7.4% to $1.99.
Investors were shaken as Trump’s sweeping tariff decision on 185 countries raised concerns over potential retaliation from both allies and adversaries, while impacting global economic growth forecasts and heightening inflation fears.
The S&P 500 fell by 4%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 5.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average approached correction territory, down nearly 10% from its peak in December.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all goods brought into the U.S., with countries like China and the European Union facing even higher tariffs of 34% and 20%, respectively. This increased the total tariff rate on Chinese goods to 54%, factoring in previously imposed tariffs.
China condemned Trump’s tariffs and vowed to retaliate, while European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen stated that preparations for countermeasures are underway “to safeguard our interests and businesses if negotiations do not succeed.”
These tariffs mark the highest level of import taxes since the 1930s, according to the analytics firm Block Scholes. As a result, futures traders have been seeking “additional protection against potential declines,” the firm noted on X, previously known as Twitter.
During Trump’s remarks in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, Bitcoin surged as high as $87,000. Prior to his announcement, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $218 million in daily net inflows, marking the highest since February 2, according to crypto data provider CoinGlass.
In January, Solana reached a peak of over $293, just a day before Trump’s inauguration, and it is now trading about 61% lower than its all-time high from less than three months ago.
Edited by James Rubin
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