Bitcoin Slips Below $104K, Cryptos Slide as U.S.-China Tariff Tensions Flare Up

What to know:

Markets went red on Friday on renewed tariff-related apprehensions.

Bitcoin is down 2.1% in the last 24 hours, trading just above $104,000 after briefly hitting a session low of $103,900. The CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, except for stablecoins, memecoins and exchange coins — slumped even further, by 4.2%.00:18Top 10 Crypto Exchanges RankedThe video player is currently playing an ad.STORY CONTINUES BELOWDon't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters Sign me upBy signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our  terms of use  and  privacy policy .

Smart contract platforms were particularly affected, with solana , sui and avalanche losing 6.3%, 7.8% and 7.3% respectively.

Crypto stocks also took a hit, especially bitcoin mining firm Bitdeer (BTDR), down 8.3% on the day after a run-up that saw the stock rise 132% from April 16 to May 21. Strategy (MSTR) slid 2.7%, and Coinbase (COIN) 1.3%.

The bleeding wasn’t contained to crypto. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are down 1% and 1.5% respectively, while gold lost 0.7%.

U.S.-China tariff clash: Round 2?

Behind the price action was the flare-up of U.S. trade tensions once again after an agreement was struck earlier this month. The concerns came after President Donald Trump  accused  China in a  post  on Truth Social of "violating" the tariff truce between the countries.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview that talks had "stalled" with the Chinese representatives.

China, in response, urged the U.S. to "immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions,"  BBC  reported.

The cool-off between U.S. and China helped risk assets rally in May, providing a tailwind for BTC to clinch a new record high. The re-escalation now threatens to unwind some of those gains.