Bitcoin Price: Testing $81K Amid Trump Tariffs and Recession Fears

Bitcoin fell to a near two-week low on Monday, extending its recent losses as concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump will impose tougher trade tariffs dented demand for risk-driven, speculative assets.

Broader risk appetite was also pressured by rising fears of a U.S. recession, especially after Goldman Sachs said it saw an increased likelihood of an economic slowdown by 2025.

Bitcoin traders were particularly shocked by on-chain data showing that about 4,000 bitcoins, worth about $332 million, were transferred to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. Token transfers to exchanges typically signal a potential sell-off.

Bitcoin fell 1% to $82,045.2 at 19:36 (GMT+8/Beijing time), briefly hitting a low of $81,300.

Trump tariffs and recession fears weigh

Bitcoin and broader crypto assets have been hit by continued risk aversion, especially after a weekend report from the Wall Street Journal showed that Trump is considering higher tariffs on a wider range of countries.

Trump plans to unveil plans for reciprocal trade tariffs on major U.S. trading partners on April 2, with tariffs set to hit key market sectors.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s tariffs could target up to 25 countries, with individual countries subject to 20% tariffs — a move that would destabilize global trade and trigger retaliation from major economies.

Trump’s tariffs and their potential economic impact have been a key point of uncertainty in the market, largely offsetting some of the positive signals from Trump’s building of a Bitcoin reserve.

Speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies tend to perform poorly during times of economic uncertainty. Bitcoin’s recent losses have wiped out nearly 40% of its value from its all-time highs around Trump’s inauguration in January.

Fears of a U.S. recession have also further weakened cryptocurrency prices, with Goldman Sachs raising the probability of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months from 20% to 35%. The investment bank cited uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs, stubborn inflation and signs of deteriorating U.S. consumer and business confidence.

Crypto markets are also recovering from strong U.S. inflation data on Friday.

Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins fall with Bitcoin, posting heavy losses in March.

Broader cryptocurrency prices fell in sync with Bitcoin, which also suffered heavy losses in March.

Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 1.5% to $1,809.93 and is down 19.2% in March. The cryptocurrency also hit a 16-month low.

XRP fell 3.5% to $2.1022, almost completely erasing gains made after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its long-running lawsuit against its issuer Ripple under Trump's supervision. XRP fell 2% in March.

Solana was flat, while Cardano fell 3.4%.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin fell 2.7% to $0.166263, while $TRUMP fell 1.1%, close to all-time lows.

This article was translated by AI. For more information, see our terms of use.