Crypto Stocks Plunge As Trump’s 104% China Tariffs are Set to Go Live

The White House confirmed that 104% tariffs against China will go live at midnight tonight, much to the woe of the crypto market. After a brief recovery to $79,000, Bitcoin fell to $76,000 amid $300 million in total crypto liquidations.

There are a few points of optimism, as Bitcoin’s long positions rose to 54%. Tomorrow will be a critical day to follow; it may bring chaos to TradFi, but crypto could potentially weather the storm.

Trump’s Tariffs Massacre Crypto Market

Trump’s tariffs are about to take effect, and the markets are in a profound moment of uncertainty. Yesterday, over $1 billion was liquidated from the crypto market, but optimism about a potential deal buoyed prices today.

The White House subsequently confirmed that 104% tariffs against China would take effect at midnight, prompting crypto to drop again:

Crypto Liquidation Heatmap. Source: Coinglass

China is America’s largest trading partner, and these sweeping tariffs could devastate the markets. Crypto, however, has been especially devastated. Publicly listed crypto companies faced another day of harsh drops after the tariff confirmation, as MicroStrategy’s MSTR slumped over 11%.

Additionally, Coinbase, Robinhood, and publicly traded Bitcoin miners all approached a 5% drop.

MicroStrategy MSTR Stock Price. Source: Google Finance

Bitcoin might be in a particularly dangerous position. Although a recent report claimed that it has been one of the crypto sector’s most tariff-proof assets, its risk profile might be changing.

It dropped 2.6% today, approaching the $75,000 price mark as more than $300 million was liquidated from crypto. If Bitcoin falls below this point, it could trigger further price routs.

Bitcoin Long-Short Ratio Fuels Optimism

As this morning’s price gains clearly demonstrated, the market still has a lot of remaining optimism. This could help all of crypto withstand tariff threats, including Bitcoin.

Its long positions have surged to 54%, showing that most traders are betting on BTC to rebound back to a higher price point.

Traders Go Long on Bitcoin Despite Tariffs. Source: Coinglass

Ultimately, tomorrow will be a very critical day for tariffs, crypto, and TradFi markets as a whole. It’s probably too late to hold out hope that Trump will decide not to escalate with China.

However, it remains to be seen whether the crypto market will continue to co-relate with the stock market after the tariffs are live or at-risk assets will reverse course and hedge against potential inflation fears.