Bitcoin prices fell over 7% in less than 24 hours in the last few days. (Photo illustration by … More Chesnot/Getty Images)
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Bitcoin prices have taken a tumble recently, suffering a notable decline as risk assets experienced widespread losses following U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement.
The world’s most prominent digital currency fell to roughly $81,300 today, according to CoinMarketCap data.
At this point, the cryptocurrency had lost more than 7% of its value after reaching an intraday high of nearly $88,000 less than 24 hours earlier at roughly 4:15 p.m. EST, additional CoinMarketCap figures reveal.
Since depreciating to an intraday low of approximately $81,300, bitcoin has recovered somewhat, but at the time of this writing, it was trading close to $83,000.
Yesterday, after the stock market closed, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the latest round of tariffs, which impose a 10% blanket rate on very country in the world.
This change, which Trump made citing the authority he has under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, is scheduled to take effect on April 5.
The president revealed that the U.S. will place additional tariffs on specific countries, for example China, which have benefited from large trade surpluses with the U.S. These policies are set to take effect on April 9.
After the White House delivered this news, risk assets started to decline. Bitcoin, along with many other digital assets, suffered losses.
When the U.S. stock market opened the following day, equities experienced notable drops. The benchmark S&P 500 index, for example, lost 4.8% in a single day, according to Google Finance data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite suffered an even greater drop, shedding approximately 6% today.
A Carefully Timed Announcement
Tim Enneking, managing partner of Psalion, commented on the situation, zoning in on the exact timing Trump used to reveal the latest policy changes.
“Trump timed his tariff announcement very carefully, for immediately after the close of US equities markets,” he stated via email.
“Despite his claims of being ‘nice,’ everyone in his administration who was aware of the substance of his announcement knew the impact would be massive and negative, hence that very precise timing,” stated Enneking.
“Crypto markets, however, never close, so, after an optimistic and momentary rise to over $88k just prior to his announcement, BTC fell literally during Trump’s ‘Immolation Day’ statement with the disclosure of each new – and absurdly high – tariff level,” he added.
Worried Investors Flee Risk Assets
Brett Sifling, wealth manager for Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, also weighed in.
“We believe that Bitcoin is continuing to be viewed as a risk-on asset by market participants. With the recent shakeup in financial markets and tariff news, it seems that most risk-on assets are being sold across the board,” he wrote via email.
“This can be confirmed by seeing the deep correction in large cap tech stocks represented by the Nasdaq,” Sifling added.
“Investors are worried about slowing growth and a potential recession, which causes them to sell risky investments like Bitcoin and take a flight to safety in more conservative asset classes,” he concluded.
Other Considerations
One analyst, the TikTok influencer who goes by Wendy O, offered a different take on the situation.
When asked whether Trump’s latest announcement fueled bitcoin’s recent decline, she answered via email that “Yes I do agree to an extent that the decline in Bitcoin price is due to tariffs. However there could be some other factors contributing to Bitcoin price decline,” she emphasized.
“With technical analysis we can see a steady decline from $109,000 since 1/20/2025. The week of 2/25/2025 we got a breakdown below $85,000 swing wick low that occurred on the BTC daily 11/12/2024 which was acting as an area of support and since going into price discovery we do not have lot of support areas to essentially ‘hold price up’ Bitcoin is just created various ranges based on market sentiment.”
The chart below illustrates these price movements:
Bitcoin’s price history since late in 2024
Crypto Wendy O
“I would also consider the current demand for gold a factor as both Bitcoin and gold are hedges again inflation and geopolitical uncertainty,” she stated.
Spot gold reached a fresh, all-time high close to $3,170.00 yesterday, according to Kitco News data.
