Trump's announcement of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum hits crypto market

Author: Stephen Katte, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on aluminum and steel, the latest move to escalate the U.S. trade war, and the cryptocurrency market plummeted.

According to the Associated Press on February 9, Trump said that any "steel entering the United States" and aluminum will be subject to a 25% tariff.

He also said the White House would impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose import duties on U.S. goods.

“If they charge us 130% and we don’t charge anything, that won’t last,” Trump said.

The cryptocurrency market fell across the board after the announcement of tariff policies. Then it recovered steadily.

According to CoinMarketCap, BTC briefly fell to $94,000 and then rebounded to above $97,000.

Bitcoin fell slightly after Trump announced tariff increases, but has rebounded since then. Source: CoinMarketCap

Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap data shows that Ethereum has also returned to its pre-tariff level, falling to a low of $2,537, but then rebounded to $2,645.

Meanwhile, the total market value of cryptocurrencies fell from $3.15 trillion to $3.10 trillion. According to CoinMarketCap, it has since rebounded to $3.13 trillion.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which measures Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ market sentiment, has been in a state of fear for the past week, with an average score of 44 points (out of 100 points).

The latest update on February 10 also showed a fear rating of 43 points, down from 46 points the previous day.

Crypto Fear and Greed Index scores have averaged fear ratings over the past week. Source: Alternative.me

Trump has also announced other plans to impose tariffs on the EU, superconductors, oil, gas, steel and copper.

On February 1, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on major trading partners Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China, causing both the stock and cryptocurrency markets to collapse.

Estimates vary from party to party, but Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou speculates that liquidation amounts may reach between $8 billion and $10 billion.

The cryptocurrency market finally rebounded after 30 days of suspending tariffs on Mexico and Canada on February 3. However, Trump has not ruled out the possibility of resuming taxation after the end of the moratorium.