- Following a surprising announcement from US President Trump regarding the strategic reserve, Bitcoin has dipped back below $90,000.
- New manufacturing data released on Monday raised concerns over the health of the US economy.
Concerns about the US economy, along with potential tariffs, dampened the unexpected cryptocurrency rally.
Bitcoin experienced a surge after President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that his working group focused on digital assets would explore creating a strategic reserve of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, and XRP.
Nevertheless, after rising from approximately $85,200 on Sunday to $94,700 in the early hours of Monday, Bitcoin has completely reversed its gains.
It is currently down by 7.8% year-to-date and is trading at about $86,233.
Ethereum, which peaked at around $2,550, has shed nearly all its recent gains and is now back to approximately $2,201.
Other market indices followed suit: the S&P 500 fell 1.8%, and the Nasdaq saw a decline of about 2.2%.
This downturn coincided with rising inflation concerns, Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada starting Tuesday, and increasing geopolitical tension after his contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday.
Trump is expected to speak at a crypto summit scheduled for Friday, the first of its kind to be led by crypto czar David Sacks.
Anxiety
Market anxiety was triggered by US manufacturing data releases.
In February, the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Manager Index dropped from 50.9 to 50.3. This index measures various metrics of economic activity in US manufacturing, including new orders and employment.
A reading below 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector is contracting.
The index can be seen as a barometer for the overall US economy; in January, construction spending was approximately $2.1 trillion, based on data from the Census Bureau data.
Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for DL News. If you have a tip, contact aflanagan@dlnews.com.
