Bitcoin slips below $65,000 as Trump tariff plans spark market uncertainty
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Bitcoin declined by more than 5% to dip under the $65,000 mark on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced intentions to raise global tariffs to 15%. The move came as Asian stock indices gathered some early gains, highlighting a clear split between crypto and regional equity markets amid renewed tariff worries.
Since touching a peak around $125,000 last October, Bitcoin has endured a pronounced sell-off that dragged into the new year. The largest cryptocurrency by market value is down about 26% year-to-date and has shed more than 47% from its October high.
Bitcoin price movements
In early February, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, suggested that Bitcoin’s downturn is largely driven by the crypto market’s four-year cycle. He argued that the current pullback mirrors patterns seen in previous downturns and does not point to a single spark as the primary cause. Instead, he cited factors such as investors rotating into gold and artificial intelligence stocks, ongoing concerns about Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh, and broader “quantum risk” worries.
Meanwhile, spot gold prices were climbing more than 2% on Monday, illustrating a notable divergence from Bitcoin, which some market watchers have likened to “digital gold.”
But here’s the part that often invites debate: is Bitcoin’s decline mainly a cyclical pattern tied to the crypto market’s own rhythm, or do macro policy actions like tariff shifts play a more immediate role in shrinking appetite for risk assets? As the conversation continues, readers are invited to weigh in with their perspectives on whether this week’s tariff news will have lasting effects on Bitcoin and other risk assets, or if the current movement is just a temporary blip in a longer-term trend.
