Crypto traders responded to tariffs announced over the weekend by US President Donald Trump by slashing positions in a range of tokens.
Ether, the second-largest digital asset by market value, fell as much as 26.53% to US$2,135 ($2,922.71) on Monday morning in Asia before paring losses, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the token’s largest intra-day decline in percentage terms since May 2021.
The tariffs are expected to take effect on billions of dollars worth of goods imported by the US from Canada and threaten to rattle global trade.
The negative sentiment in markets weighed on other cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin at one point down nearly 6% and smaller tokens posting even steeper losses.
“Trump’s tariff war is impacting the whole market,” said Caroline Bowler, CEO of BTC Markets. “Concerns about trade wars and stagflation, triggering recessions, are cascading across alt coins and Bitcoin.”
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The crypto market gyrations represent a sharp reversal of recent gains attributable to Trump’s pro-crypto statements on the campaign trail and after his election.
The Republican signed an executive order on Jan 24 that created a working group expected to deliver clear rules for US crypto firms within six months. The group is also charged with examining the creation of a crypto stockpile.
“Ether is being battered more than Bitcoin, Solana and Ripple mainly because there is expectation that the latter are likely to be included in digital asset stockpile in the US as American-led companies,” said Jonathan Yark, senior quant trader at market maker Acheron Trading. “As a result, Ether’s liquidity is far less resilient and subject to increased volatility compared to its peers.”
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As of mid-morning in Singapore, Ether was trading at US$2,495 and Bitcoin at US$93,747 while Ripple was down nearly 14% at US$2.25.
Despite optimism about Trump’s plans, his tariff announcements over the weekend “saw a strong bid for downside on Saturday and Sunday as hedges on larger global macro ramifications,” said Sean McNulty, head of APAC derivatives at digital-asset prime brokerage FalconX.
For now, Bitcoin is bearing the sell-off better than smaller, more speculative tokens, he added.
Chart: Bloomberg
