Bitcoin has plunged to its lowest levels—nearly erasing all its post-election gains—as escalating trade tensions fuel global market panic.
CoinGecko’s data show that the Bitcoin price dropped to $74,500 in early Asia on Monday morning, a drop of 6.5% over the last 24 hours, and more than 5,8% for the entire week.
Bitcoin is currently hovering around $77,179. However, analysts are warning that Bitcoin could still suffer further losses.
A turbulent weekend was sparked off by Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs that will go into effect April 9.
Trump set a base tariff of 10% on all imports. Certain countries are charged at higher rates, such as 34% on Chinese products and 20% on EU goods.
China responded with a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports. This led to the biggest single-day stock market crash since 2008.
Crypto trading firm QCP Capital published a report on Monday that stated, “Markets have been reeling due to the intensification of global trade conflict.” BTC was able to weather the storm that hit U.S. equity markets last week. But that was short-lived.
QCP reported that the economy was on the verge of war with only two days until higher tariffs are implemented.
Risk assets have been hit hard by the fallout. In the past day, Coinglass reported that over $1.41 million worth of crypto assets were liquidated, BTC, ETH and XRP being the most affected.
Tracy Jin, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange MEXC told Reuters: “At first, the crypto market may appear to be separating from the overall trend.” Decrypt. “On the night of April 3–4, Bitcoin looked more stable than the S&P 500 and commodity assets and this gave reason to talk about crypto as an alternative defensive asset, especially in the context of increasing geopolitical and trade risks.”
Jin warned against misreading Bitcoin’s initial stability. He noted that the crypto-market had “simply surpassed the stock market” with the majority of sales occurring “from January until March,” long before the equities market began to decline.
Bitcoin, according to the expert, is now acting “as a leading indicator” in macroeconomic distress.
Jin noted that the price of the product had already been impacted by the trade conflict, and in particular the tariff rhetoric from the United States towards China.
Altan Tutar is the CEO and founder of Global Liquidity Marketplace MoreMarkets. He says Bitcoin’s status as a currency or asset has been re-shaped in real time.
He said: “Bitcoin has reached a critical crossroads.” Decrypt. With market volatility on the rise and tariffs being discussed again, 2025 is going to be a true test. Does Bitcoin act more like a technology stock or as a safe haven asset such as gold? We’re already seeing elements from both.”
Tutar said that even though the crypto is operated in a layer of digital technology, which makes it less exposed to tariffs directly, costs are increasing.
He said that rising hardware costs may make mining and validation more costly. Bitcoin could evolve over time into a different kind of asset, one that is shaped both by financial markets and global geopolitical tension.
Jin, from a technological perspective, warned that BTC has reached “critical levels”.
“Resistance above $80,000 could be an important signal for institutional investors," she said. "A breakout of $71,000 downwards could trigger a chain of liquidations with a target in the $65,000 area."
Jin, who warned the market that an escalating political climate would also impact regulation as it waited for policymakers to clarify their position, said that regulatory changes could be impacted by a worsening of the political environment.
According to her, “The institutional adoption of cryptocurrency could be limited by increased oversight, particularly in G7 nations, and anti-sanction evasion measures.”
Jin, however, believes Bitcoin’s strength could still be persuasive. He suggests that “if BTC holds up in the face of high turmoil,” it might shift perceptions even among “more conservative financial actors.”
Stacy Elliott is the editor.
