Cryptos Rally After Being Battered by Trump’s Tariff Threat

Cryptocurrencies were rallying earlier in the week, paring back some of their losses after crashing in the wake of President Trump’s renewed tariff threats against China.

Tokens including Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP plummeted, with Bitcoin racking up double-digit percentage losses and falling below $110,000 at one point.

Bitcoin was trading around the $115,000 mark, about 9% below the record high it hit earlier this month, George Glover and Elsa Ohlen reported for Barron’s Daily.

Tokens including Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP plummeted, with Bitcoin racking up double-digit percentage losses and falling below $110,000 at one point. The selloff came after Trump threatened to hike tariffs on China, which likely sapped investors’ appetite for risk assets.

“Cryptocurrencies did little to stake their claim as a store of wealth last week,” Hargreaves Lansdown Head of Equity Research Derren Nathan said.

“At one point, Bitcoin bottomed out more than 13% lower than the record highs it hit last week, as traders scrambled to close positions.”

Monday’s rebound came after Trump softened his tone on his trade war with Beijing. “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

The recent volatility of cryptos highlights the risks of investing in assets with little intrinsic value and a lighter regulatory touch, according to Hargreaves Lansdown’s Nathan.

Future price catalysts also include developments in the U.S. government shutdown, now entering its 13th day, with voting set to resume Tuesday.