Crypto markets have relatively fared better and have stayed surprisingly calm even while the traditional market reacted sharply to Trump’s shifting tariff plans. However, Bitcoin fell over 2% on Sunday as markets struggled with uncertainty over the US China tariff concerns.
Tariff Concerns Hit Crypto
Bitcoin fell to $83,482 during Asian trading hours erasing some of its last week’s gain and fell behind the stock markets. Similarly, other altcoins like Ethereum also dipped below $1,600 and some had mixed results. This decline was due to the concerns that if the new tariffs would hit Chinese tech products like phones, semiconductors and laptops.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said that some electronics were temporarily excluded from the new 10% reciprocal tariffs, however they would still face a separate 20% tax over national security and fentanyl concerns.
No Tariff Exceptions
He also clarified that no county will be let off easily for unfair trade practices and there are no tariff exceptions particularly for China. Commerce Secretary Lutnick hinted that more electronics-related tariffs are expected in the next 2 months. Stock markets rose in reaction to the temporary delay on tariffs.
While the Nasdaq futures rose over 1% and the S&P futures went up 0.7% in early trading hours, crypto did not display the same strength.
According to NYDIG’s head of research, Greg Cipolaro, markets usually tend to pull back hard during uncertain times, however, crypto has not yet shown any real signs of strain yet. Last week the markets were stable as traders were positioned for rising prices over signs that inflation was easing. But the optimism faded over rising global tensions and signs of slowdown in institutional flows into US crypto ETFs.
Emergency Fed Rate Cut Hopes Fade
Besides, expectations for an early Fed rate cut before June have dropped mainly because of concerns over Trump tariffs pushing inflation higher. If the rate stays high, then crypto assets could continue to stuggle. Experts note that if Bitcoin falls below the $81,000 level, this trigger even more selling and lead to increased market pressure.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $84,359, up over 9% in the past week. Notably, Bitcoin is down 22.5% from its January peak of over $108,000. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted $86,000 as a key resistance zone for Bitcoin. He noted that a rejection could send it back to $79,000 but a breakout could lead to $97,000.
MANTRA Drops 90%!
Meanwhile Ether is struggling to reclaim the $1,700 level and has been in the $1,600 region throughout the week. XRP currently stands at $2.13 and is currently up over an impressive 20%. Solana is also currently trading at $132.37, up over 30% in the past week, although it is down over 1% in the past day.
The Mantra token (OM) dropped over 90% on Sunday, as it went from nearly $6 to under $0.4 due to “reckless liquidations,” according to the project. This steep drop has raised concerns about centralized exchanges and the stability of RWA tokens.
Besides, the crypto fear and greed index is currently in fear at 29 according to data from Coinmarketcap, marking an improvement from the “Extreme Fear” witnessed last week.
