Bitcoin Experiences Volatility Amid Tariff Uncertainty
Bitcoin dipped below $65,000 on Monday for the second time this month, a drop attributed to ongoing uncertainty related to U.S. tariffs. The original cryptocurrency fell about 4.8%, reaching nearly $64,300, marking its lowest value since February 6. Other cryptocurrencies fared worse, with Ether, the second-largest digital asset, plummeting by 5.2%. However, Bitcoin recovered slightly, trading above $65,900 by 8 AM in London, while Ether was around $1,885.
The downturn followed an announcement by U.S. officials on Sunday confirming that existing trade agreements with other nations would remain unaffected, even after a Supreme Court decision nullified President Donald Trump’s emergency tariff measures. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump stated he would escalate the previously announced 10% global tariffs to 15%, which injected more chaos into the economic landscape. This news led to a decline in the dollar and U.S. stock futures during early trading on Monday, with the S&P 500 decreasing by 0.8% and the Nasdaq 100 dropping by 1%. Interestingly, Asian stocks saw a rise of 1%.
Caroline Moron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, remarked, “The crypto market stays fragile, and investors are really looking for that $60,000 support. There’s a lot of macro uncertainty—from geopolitical tensions with Iran to tariff strategies in the U.S.—and it’s certainly putting a strain on the markets, which could lead to more challenges ahead.”
This month, Bitcoin fully erased the gains it had realized since Trump’s re-election in November 2024. Following a peak of over $126,000 in October last year, driven by hopes for a more crypto-friendly administration, Bitcoin has since struggled. The overall crypto market has seen a staggering loss of over $2 trillion in value, particularly affecting smaller tokens.
Moreover, the twelve U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin funds have faced net outflows for five consecutive weeks—the longest streak since February of last year—resulting in $3.8 billion being withdrawn.
According to CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency market has suffered another $100 billion loss within the last 24 hours. Data from the derivatives exchange Deribit indicated that investors are mainly focusing their downside protection around that critical $60,000 mark.
The current bearish trends, alongside the latest tariff developments, highlight that Bitcoin is “in need of a new narrative,” as stated by Robin Singh, CEO of the crypto tax platform Koinly. “There was some speculation regarding the U.S. Transparency Act, but the price has remained relatively stagnant, suggesting that this catalyst isn’t quite strong enough to propel Bitcoin higher.”
