Bitcoin Falls as Key Deadline Approaches for Trump ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs

The price of Bitcoin fell under $77,000 on Tuesday as investors waited for the steepest levies included in U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war to go into effect.

The White House has already imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. imports, following Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement last week, but individualized, “reciprocal” rates for dozens of countries were set to be implemented at midnight Eastern Time.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Chinese imports will be subject to an additional 50% tariff on Tuesday, yielding a total rate of 104%, per NBC News.

“It was a mistake for China to retaliate,” she said during a press conference, referring to Beijing’s decision to counter Trump’s tariffs with its own 34% levies on U.S. imports.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap was recently changing hands around $76,500, a roughly 2% drop over the past 24 hours after rising over $80,000 earlier Tuesday. The asset fell as low as $74,700 on Monday, according to the crypto data provider CoinGecko.

“The price reaction in BTC has been mild compared to previous broad market sell-offs,” David Lawant, head of research at the crypto market maker FalconX, wrote in a recent note, adding that “we may be in for a period of sideways chop or even further deterioration.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X on Monday that the White House could hold “meaningful negotiations” with over 50 countries impacted by Trump’s tariffs in the coming weeks. He later told Fox News, however, that some negotiations could last into June.

As Trump’s self-imposed deadline for reciprocal tariffs approached, countries including Canada were poised to push through countermeasures of their own. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X that 25% tariffs on certain vehicles would take effect at midnight.

“President Trump caused this trade crisis — and Canada is responding with purpose and with force,” Carney added.

Trump’s trade war has roiled equities on fears that tariffs could pinch U.S. consumers’ pockets while contributing to a slowdown in economic growth across the globe. The tech-heavy Nasdaq  and S&P 500 began Tuesday’s trading session in the green but closed down 2.1% and 1.6%, respectively. 

This week, investors will get a fresh inflation reading for Trump’s trade regime. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release its Consumer Price Index on Thursday.

Edited by James Rubin