Trump’s commerce struggle pressures crypto market as April 2 tariffs loom

Issues over a worldwide commerce struggle proceed to stress conventional and cryptocurrency markets as buyers brace for a possible tariff announcement from US President Donald Trump on April 2 — a transfer that might set the tone for Bitcoin’s worth trajectory all through the month.

Trump first introduced import tariffs on Chinese language items on Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration as president.

International tariff fears have led to heightened inflation issues, limiting urge for food for danger property amongst buyers. Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen 18%, and the S&P 500 (SPX) index has fallen greater than 7% within the two months following the preliminary tariff announcement, in accordance with TradingView knowledge, TradingView knowledge exhibits.

“Going ahead, April 2 is drawing elevated consideration as a possible flashpoint for contemporary US tariff bulletins,” Stella Zlatareva, dispatch editor at digital asset funding platform Nexo, instructed Cointelegraph.

Investor sentiment took one other hit on March 29 after Trump pressed his senior advisers to take a extra aggressive stance on import tariffs, which can be seen as a possible escalation of the commerce struggle, the Washington Publish reported, citing 4 unnamed sources accustomed to the matter.

The April 2 announcement is predicted to element reciprocal commerce tariffs concentrating on prime US buying and selling companions. The measures purpose to scale back the nation’s estimated $1.2 trillion items commerce deficit and increase home manufacturing.

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Bitcoin ETFs, whales proceed accumulating

Regardless of mounting uncertainty, massive Bitcoin holders — referred to as “whales,” with between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC — have continued to build up.

Addresses on this class have remained regular because the starting of 2025, from 1,956 addresses on Jan. 1 to over 1,990 addresses on March 27 — nonetheless under the earlier cycle’s peak of two,370 addresses recorded in February 2024, Glassnode knowledge exhibits.

“Threat urge for food stays muted amid tariff threats from President Trump and ongoing macro uncertainty,” in accordance with Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at Nexo, who instructed Cointelegraph:

“Nonetheless, BTC accumulation by whales and a 10-day ETF influx streak level to regular institutional demand. However hawkish surprises — from inflation or commerce — might maintain crypto rangebound into April.”

Associated: $1T stablecoin provide might drive subsequent crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman

The US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds halted their 10-day accumulation streak on March 28 when Constancy’s ETF recorded over $93 million price of outflows, whereas the opposite ETF issuers registered no inflows or outflows, Farside Buyers knowledge exhibits.

Regardless of short-term volatility issues, analysts remained optimistic about Bitcoin’s worth trajectory for late 2025, with worth predictions starting from $160,000 to above $180,000.

Journal: SCB ideas $500K BTC, SEC delays Ether ETF choices, and extra: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 23 – March 1