Trump’s tariffs trigger crypto market sell-off

The Bitcoin price has dropped below $75,000 for the first time in five months as investors braced for financial market turbulence, following the rollout of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. The majority of the top 100 altcoins also saw their value plunge by around 15% or more following the steepest decline in US equities since 2020.

The Trump administration imposed a blanket 10% tariff on all countries starting April 5, with some hit with steeper rates, including China at 34%, the EU at 20%, and Japan at 24%. The measures have stoked fears of a global trade war that could potentially drag the American economy into a recession.

The price of Bitcoin dropped beneath a key technical level – $79,000 to $80,000 – over the weekend. It plunged further below $75,000 on Monday and then settled at $76,000 after hitting almost $90,000 just a week earlier. Ethereum dropped 14.19% to $1,551.52, while XRP fell 14.52% to $1.81. Binance Coin declined by 6.51%, and Solana tumbled 13.96%.

Bitcoin’s decline sparked a wave of long liquidations, as traders who had bet on rising prices were forced to sell off their positions to cover mounting losses. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin accounted for more than $247 million in long liquidations, according to CoinGlass. Ether followed closely behind, with $217 million in long positions wiped out during the same period.

In total, the crypto market recorded over $1.38 billion in liquidations, with the majority coming from long positions. Around $1.21 billion was erased from traders betting on prices to rise, according to Coinglass.

Mounting fears over the widespread impact of the tariffs sent shockwaves through global markets. European stock markets fell on Monday morning, continuing a global selloff that had already rattled Asian markets.

“There is a lot of noise at the moment,” Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research, was quoted by CNBC as saying.

“I think Bitcoin will become a hedge against tariff risks this time around. US isolationism is akin to increased risks of holding fiat, which will ultimately benefit Bitcoin,” he added.

Trump, however, defended the tariffs on Sunday, saying they were necessary to fix trade deficits with China, the EU, and others. He acknowledged the market sell-off, noting that while he was aware of the downturn and didn’t want to see values decline, he had no intention of easing the tariffs.