TL;DR
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BTC dipped below $83k after hitting the $88k level earlier on Wednesday.
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Altcoins suffered greater losses, with ETH dropping below $1,900 again.
Crypto Market Falls Amid Reciprocal Tariffs Talk
The cryptocurrency market was bearish on Wednesday following the “Liberation Day” announcement of across-the-board U.S. import tariffs. Bitcoin was trading above $88k during the early hours of Wednesday but dropped sharply below $83k due to the tariff talks.
At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $83,327 and could rally as the market embarks on a recovery. President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs affecting nearly 200 U.S. trading partners.
The new policy sets a 10% tariff on imports, exempting USMCA-compliant goods, while some countries will see tariffs rise as high as 49%. Furthermore, the president imposed a 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars. The reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect on April 9, while the baseline 10% tariff will hit on April 5.
With Bitcoin dropping below $83k, altcoins also suffered huge losses on Wednesday. Ether was closing in on the $2k mark but has since dropped following the tariff announcements and now trades at $1,829 per coin.
Solana’s SOL was the worst performer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, down 4% in the last 24 hours and trading at $119 per coin. If the bearish sentiment continues, SOL could drop below $100 for the first time since February 2024.
The total cryptocurrency market cap has declined by 1.6% and now stands at $2.67 trillion.