Bitcoin slides below US$100,000 as Trump tariffs rattle markets
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There is added downward pressure on crypto after a strong rally in the wake of Mr Trump’s election, as some investors have felt disappointed at the lack of immediate moves to boost crypto or loosen regulations.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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SINGAPORE - Cryptocurrency prices slid on Feb 3 as the spectre of a global trade war put investors on edge and pushed them out of risky assets.
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known crypto, fell to a three-week low of US$91,441.89 and was trading at US$95,848.46 as at 5.35pm Singapore time. Smaller cryptocurrency Ether fell as much as 27 per cent to US$2,135 in Asia before paring losses. It last fetched US$2,585.313.
The selling in so-called alternative coins was more acute. Dogecoin, which includes Mr Elon Musk as a backer, fell as much as 22 per cent, bringing it down nearly 47 per cent from its Dec 8 high. XRP, Cardano, Avalanche and Chainlink, all altcoins, each fell more than 10 per cent.
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports, and 10 per cent on goods from China, to kick in on Feb 4.
Cryptocurrencies trade around the clock, including on weekends, and have been sensitive to markets’ broader sentiment.
Investors think tariffs can hurt growth and company earnings.
“Crypto is really the only way to express risk over the weekend, and on news like this crypto resorts to a risk proxy,” said Mr Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
At the same time, there is added downward pressure on crypto after a strong rally in the wake of Mr Trump’s election, with investors disappointed at the lack of immediate moves to boost crypto or loosen rules since he took office.
Bitcoin touched a record high of US$107,071.86 on Jan 20, when Mr Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president and is up 40 per cent since the election in early November in the hopes of crypto-friendly regulations from the Trump administration.
Mr Trump – who once labelled crypto a scam – embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet”.
In January, he ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile. REUTERS
