Crypto mkt slides on Trumps Harsher than Expected Tariffs

Crypto mkt slides on Trump’s Harsher than Expected Tariffs

By Manoj Dharra

Crypto markets dipped after US President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency and sweeping tariffs on all countries as part of his latest salvo in the ongoing trade war.

The Trump administration has hit all countries with a 10% tariff starting April 5, with some countries facing even larger rates, such as China facing a 34% tariff, the European Union 20%, and Japan 24%.

Bitcoin had been staging a rally, reaching a session high at $88,500 but dropped back to around $83,230. Meanwhile, Ether (ETH) dropped over 2% to $1825 following the tariff announcements and the total crypto market cap dropped 1% to $2.68 trillion.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures market sentiment for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, returned a score of 25, classed as extreme fear.

Altcoins like XRP, SOL, LINK and memecoin DOGE were down by single digit.

ETFS – Meanwhile… Spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in over $1 billion in the first quarter despite weak prices, with a Bitwise analyst forecasting up to $3 billion in second quarter inflows even without price recovery.

MANTRA integrates with Elliptic, expanding its reach to 500+ financial institutions. This layer 1 blockchain for real world assets aims to bridge TradFi and crypto through Elliptic’s compliance infrastructure. Mantra’s OM token was up by 2% trading at $6.33.

Fidelity has launched a no-fee crypto IRA that allows U.S. adults to invest in bitcoin, ether and litecoin. The retirement product comes amid growing demand from clients for tax-advantaged crypto investment options. On the back of this development, LITECOIN is up by 2.5% trading at $83.67.

Cosmos Interchain developers test Inter-Blockchain Communication transactions between Cosmos and Ethereum, aimed at enhancing interoperability between the two chains, where you can send crypto assets from one blockchain directly to another without needing to use a bridge. On the back of this development Cosmos’ ATOM is up by over 3%, trading at $4.43.

Curve Finance clocks $35B trading volume in Q1 2025 and hence Curve’s native token Curve DAO is trading higher by 1% in today’s trade.

Avalanche’s AVAX could rise to $55 by year-end and coud rise 10-fold to $250 by the end of 2029, said Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick. The network’s unique subnet architecture and recent cost-reducing upgrade are key growth drivers. AVAX’s relatively low market cap and growing developer interest position it for outsized gains if adoption accelerates.

Outlook

Markets thrive on certainty, and with speculation now largely removed, institutional investors may see an opportunity over the coming days to take advantage of compressed valuations.

Global responses will be key for the market going forward, speculating that Mexico and key East Asian economies, including China, South Korea, and Japan, could be evaluating countermeasures.

You need to login in order to Like