The price of Bitcoin dove under $101,600 Friday after President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed that tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada are imminent. The plunge has pushed Bitcoin down by nearly 3% over the past day at a current price of $102,060.
During a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president will soon implement 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, while China will face 10% tariffs. The taxes on imported goods will take effect when the tariffs are fully unveiled Saturday, she said.
Analysts have said that tariffs could put pressure on Bitcoin’s price in an indirect way, contributing to the U.S. dollar’s strength over the short term.
The Federal Reserve is meanwhile monitoring how potential shifts in immigration and trade policy could impact its inflation outlook. During the Fed’s December policy meeting, officials expressed concern that bringing inflation down to its 2% target could be challenging under the new president, given potential policy shifts.
While tariffs could therefore impact the timing of rate cuts, which Bitcoin has so far thrived on, Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon told Decrypt that the flow of capital within markets may face an immediate impact as well.
“Protectionist tariffs tend to slow down capital market flows,” he said. “Investors may be worried that tariffs could drain liquidity going to alternative investments like crypto.”
Prior to plummeting Friday, Bitcoin’s price had recouped losses seen earlier this week as China’s DeepSeek rattled tech markets. On Thursday, the asset’s price came within 3% of its all-time high of $108,780, notched alongside Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
On Wall Street, major stock indices fell on Leavitt’s confirmation. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shaved off 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average stumbled 338 points.
At the start of this month, Bitcoin’s price swelled above $100,000 for the first time in weeks after the Washington Post reported that Trump’s administration was mulling a paired-back tariff plan.
Trump pushed back against the Post’s report, but the U.S. dollar still weakened.
“The story in the Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources, which don’t exist, incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
Prior to Friday’s press conference, the Trump team had reportedly weighed a gradual approach to tariffs, potentially increasing them each month, per Bloomberg News.
As Bitcoin fell, some altcoins showed greater losses over the past day. XRP’s price had fallen 3% to $3.04, while Solana’s price had dropped more than 4% to $230. Dogecoin’s is down less than 2% on the day to a current price of $0.327, though it had fallen sharply after the tariffs news broke. Ethereum’s price, however, had risen 2% over the past day to $3,315.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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