Cryptocurrencies take a nosedive after controversial move by Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump's implementation of tariffs on China alongside neighbors Mexico and Canada have left the cryptocurrency market in decline, with Bitcoin, among others, dropping in reaction to the news.
The world of cryptocurrency has been one of the biggest benefactors of Donald Trump's victory in the US election, as the 45th president's return to office saw many of the biggest coins surge in value.
Bitcoin was the highlight by far, soaring past the $100,000 mark for the first time in its history and remaining there for much of the post-election period, but there were also major gains for a number of other coins including Dogecoin and the president's own 'meme coin', which was quickly usurped by one from his wife Melania.
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However, recent executive orders from Trump and his team that implement tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China have rocked both the cryptocurrency world and wider stock market, leading to significant value drops across the board, as per Sky News.
Trump's controversial actions, which instill 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, alongside 10% on imports from China, have been seen as a risky move by economists as it indicates signs of a global trade war.
You can clearly see the same reaction in the crypto market too, as Bitcoin in particular has dropped from a high of $105,728 on January 31, to a low $92,877 on February 3 shortly after the executive order was signed.
CoinMarketCap indicates that there has been an increase of 163% in the volume of Bitcoin traded in the last 24 hours too, indicating that many are selling off due to the instability of the market as a result of Trump's actions.
Bitcoin isn't the only one to suffer either, as Ethereum in the second spot has dropped around 14.56% in the last day and the aforementioned Dogecoin around 12.65% in the same period.
While you might think that, as a deregulated economy, cryptocurrency would be free from the reigns of a volatile global market, but Christ Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, has indicated quite the opposite, as reported by Reuters.
"Crypto is really the only way to express risk over the weekend," outlines Weston, "and on news like this crypto resorts to a risk proxy."
On top of this, Bitcoin is also more likely to drop than most other coins due to the significantly higher volume circulating in the market, making it easier to quickly sell off in times of stress.