Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, has dipped below the $80,000 level as global markets reacted to uncertainty driven by new U.S. trade tariffs. As of 6:27 GMT, Bitcoin was down 3.32 percent to $75,741. In the last week, the cryptocurrency has lost close to 8 percent.
President Trump’s tariff announcement last Wednesday set off sharp declines in both the crypto and stock markets. Today, Ethereum dropped 4.37 percent to 1,508.34 and the ETH/BTC ratio fell 1.29 percent. The GMCI 30 Index, tracking the top 30 cryptocurrencies, fell 14.07 percent and is down 37.57 percent since the start of the year.
U.S. stocks plummet
The fall in crypto markets came alongside major declines in U.S. stock indices. S&P 500 futures fell 3.5 percent in volatile trading, while Nasdaq futures dropped 4.4 percent, adding to nearly $6 trillion in market losses from the previous week. The pain similarly impacted Europe, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures down 3.6 percent, FTSE futures losing 2.3 percent, and DAX futures declining by 4.0 percent.
Traders remained on edge over a potential “Black Monday” scenario similar to the market crash seen in 1987, where global stock markets fell sharply on Monday after logging steep losses in the past week.
The global appetite for risk-driven stocks largely unwound following the announcement, leading to major losses globally. Speculative assets such as crypto were also hit hard by increased sell-offs, with traders largely moving toward safe havens such as the Japanese yen and gold. The total crypto market capitalization has slumped by about $500 billion since last week.
Read| Stock market downturn: Asia reacts to Trump’s tariff plans, recession fears
Bitcoin falls 19.58 percent this year
Bitcoin’s decline triggered a wave of long liquidations as traders betting on an increase in its price were forced to sell their assets to cover their losses. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has seen more than $247 million in long liquidations, according to CoinGlass. Meanwhile, Ether saw $217 million in long liquidations in the same period.
Tariffs on all U.S. imports, in addition to higher tariffs for major trading partners, have sparked worries of a global trade war that could lead the U.S. into a recession. Growing concerns about the long-term impact of the tariffs sent markets reeling worldwide.
In the two sessions following the tariff announcement, global stocks wiped out $7.46 trillion in market value based on the market cap of the S&P Global Broad Market Index, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. That figure includes $5.87 trillion lost in the U.S. stock market over those two sessions and another $1.59 trillion loss in market value in other major global markets.
Bitcoin is down 19.58 percent so far this year due to a lack of catalysts driving prices up. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value is expected to continue moving similar to equities as global recession fears overshadow any regulatory tailwinds crypto was expected to benefit from this year.
