Crypto Markets Shed $150B as Trump’s Trade War Hits China, Canada, Mexico (Weekend Watch)

Bitcoin and most altcoins have turned red in the past 12 hours or so, with BTC dumping below the coveted $100,000 line and many alts posting substantial losses.

This came after US President Trump signed orders to impose harsh tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada.

BTC Below $100K

Bitcoin’s business week started with a nosedive that pushed it from $105,000 to under $98,000 in hours, but the asset bounced off and erased all losses in the next few days. The weekly peak came on Thursday, after the US Fed left the interest rates unchanged, as bitcoin jumped to over $106,500.

However, it failed to maintain its run and was rejected on Friday, which resulted in a price dip to $101,500. The landscape worsened in the past 12 hours or so as the bears propelled another leg down that drove the cryptocurrency to well below $100,000. In fact, its intraday low came at $99,000 (on Bitstamp), which is being retested now as well.

This somewhat unexpected price decline over the weekend could be attributed to the political scene that Trump shook last night. He signed an order to impose a 10% tax on all imports from China as well as 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada. Only energy coming from Canada will be taxed at 10%.

Mexico and Canada retaliated by imposing taxes on US imports as well, while China said it would file a case against the States at the World Trade Organization.

With this decline, BTC’s market cap has slumped to $1.970 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts has climbed to over 56%.

Alts Bleed

As it typically happens in such situations, the altcoins were hit the hardest. Ethereum is down to $3,100 after a 4.5% daily decline. XRP is below $2.9, while SOL, DOGE, LINK, AVAX, TON, and XLM have plunged by up to 9%.

Even more painful declines come from VIRTUAL, HYPE, JASMY, RAY, TAO, LDO, THETA, FET, and GALA, as all of them are down by double digits.

The cumulative market cap of all crypto assets has shed roughly $150 billion in a day and is down to $3.5 trillion on CG.