U.S. President Donald Trump shocked markets on Wednesday by announcing sweeping tariffs — starting at 10% and going higher for several countries — in a move that sparked fears of a global trade war.
In a Rose Garden speech, Trump said he would sign an immediate order to enforce “reciprocal tariffs” against trading partners. “
Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years but it’s not going to happen anymore,” he said, adding that some tariffs will begin at midnight.
The first target is the auto sector, a 25% levy on all foreign-made cars begins at midnight on Thursday, April 3. A blanket 10% tariff on all imports will follow on April 5. Specific countries will face even harsher rates from April 9 — including 34% on China, 46% on Vietnam, 32% on Taiwan, 25% on South Korea, 20% on the EU, and 31% on Switzerland.
Bitcoin briefly rose as the speech began, but slid as the full tariff plan became clear. BTC is now trading at $86,000, down about 1%. U.S. stock futures plummeted: Dow futures dropped 963 points (2.3%), S&P 500 fell 3.4%, and Nasdaq-100 lost 4.2%.
Multinational stocks also took a hit in after-hours trading. Nike and Apple fell around 7%. Retailers like Five Below lost 15%, Dollar Tree dropped 11%, and Gap fell 8.5%. Nvidia was down 4.5% and Tesla 6%.
Amid the chaos, Bitcoin OG Adam Back chimed in with a one-liner on X:
A few hours later, he added:
“paper bitcoin FUD either.”
QCP Capital said in a client note:
“Market implications? In the short term, we expect all risk assets to remain under pressure. But as the new status quo beds in, we could witness pockets of ex-U.S. exceptionalism. Global equity indices may continue to push toward new highs, even as the U.S. risks being sidelined by its own policy choices."
As for crypto, the mood isn’t improving:
“In crypto, sentiment remains broadly subdued. BTC continues to trade without conviction, while ETH is holding the line at $1,800 support. Across the board, crypto markets are showing signs of exhaustion with numerous coins down 90% YTD, with some shedding over 30% in the past week. Without a material shift in macro or a compelling catalyst, we don’t expect a meaningful reversal. While light positioning could support a grind higher, we’re not chasing any upside moves until the broader macro picture improves.”
Adam Back is a legendary cryptographer and one of the earliest contributors to Bitcoin. He’s the inventor of Hashcash, the proof-of-work system that inspired Bitcoin mining. Back now leads Blockstream, a key infrastructure company in the Bitcoin ecosystem.