Bitcoin Seesaws as Trump Broadens Tariff Delays

The price of Bitcoin touched $92,750 on Thursday but later slipped below $89,000 as U.S. President Donald Trump broadened the scope of tariff delays on Mexican goods and services.

Trump said that he was delaying tariffs on vehicles and other goods that are currently included in the United States-Canada Agreement (USMCA) 

“Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement” until April, Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social adding that the move was “out of respect” to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The post came a day after the administration delayed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada that had been imposed earlier in the week. 

Speaking with CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that he expects a separate deal with Canada could be hashed out as early as today. His assessment comes after the sweeping tariffs, which also hitChina provoked retaliatory measures.

Bitcoin is still changing hands below its Sunday peak price of $94,800 and well off its record high above $108,000 set in January. The digital assets jumped, alongside Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano (ADA) amid the president’s renewed call for the creation of a “strategic crypto reserve” containing these coins.

While Cardano had fallen 6% over the past day to $0.89, and XRP had climbed 3.6% to $2.57, Ethereum and Solana were flat at $2,200 and $144, respectively, according to crypto markets data provider CoinGecko. 

As crypto industry leaders prepare to convene on Friday during a White House summit, optimism is building that Trump’s reserve could calm the crypto market’s shakiness, according to Valentin Fournier, an analyst at the digital asset intelligence firm BRN.

“A clear and actionable roadmap would be a monumental bullish catalyst for the entire crypto market, potentially kickstarting the massive rally investors have been waiting for,” he wrote.

The trade war has battered risk assets. While tariffs initially sparked inflation concerns, market participants have grown  worried about economy’s strength amid soft data.

For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecast on Monday that the U.S. economy would contract at an annualized rate of 2.8% during the first quarter. Job cuts spiked to their highest level in January since July 2020, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported on Thursday.

The CME FedWatch tool is now projecting a higher probability of three interest rate cuts this year, up from the one that has been widely considered more likely and a reflection of recession concerns.