Bitcoin Sinks Further as Tariff Fears Wipe Out Trump ‘Reserve’ Gains

The price of Bitcoin briefly slipped below $82,000 on Tuesday, reversing recent gains as President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect.

Bitcoin has since rebounded slightly to a current price of $83,740, but remains down 7% on the day and nearly 16% over the last month.

America began imposing sweeping levies on imports from the country’s two largest trading partners shortly after midnight, according to a draft public notice published on Monday. Trump meanwhile doubled tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%, per the Associated Press.

Within the cryptosphere, Trump’s renewed trade war has produced notable volatility as market participants weigh how policy moves could impact risk assets broadly. Some economists warn that Trump’s tariffs could stoke inflation, while others think it could spur economic growth.

On Tuesday, China responded with up to 15% tariffs on certain U.S. goods, while leaders in Mexico and Canada vowed similar measures would be imposed in retaliatory fashion soon.

Bitcoin jumped as high as $94,800 on Sunday amid Trump’s renewed calls for a “crypto strategic reserve,” but a growing trade conflict wiped out those gains. Ethereum and Solana’s price had also surged, but they retraced the so-called Trump bump as well.

Shortly after 12pm ET, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana had respectively fallen 7%, 8.5%, and 12.5% to $83,740, $2,080, and $137.50, per data from CoinGecko. They still fared better than the overall crypto market, which has fallen more than 9% over the past day to $2.86 trillion.

Uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariffs was also reflected on Wall Street. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 had fallen 1.3%, per data from Yahoo Finance. A day before, the index veered into negative territory on the year, currently showing a 2.22% year-to-date fall.