Risk assets such as bitcoin (BTC), xrp (XRP), solana (SOL) are back in focus as President Donald Trump warned of even more reciprocal tariffs if other countries collude to do “economic harm” to the U.S.
“If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA,” he wrote in a Truth Social post in early Asian hours Thursday, “large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!”
“Liberation day in America is coming, soon,” Trump wrote in a separate post. “For years we have been ripped off by virtually every country in the world, both friend and foe. But those days are over — America first!!!”
The post comes days after reports that concerns of tariffs were overblown, and that overall impact would be more measured than expected.
Earlier this month, Trump had imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, alongside a 20% levy on Chinese goods, citing national security concerns over immigration and fentanyl trafficking. Now, with the EU and Canada in his crosshairs, markets could be bracing for another jolt.
Tariffs, by their nature, disrupt economic stability — increasing costs for imported goods, stoking inflation, and pressuring central banks like the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy.
Such moves could spell trouble for BTC and other tokens in the short term, as the crypto market often moves in tandem with equities, which tend to falter under trade uncertainty. A stronger U.S. dollar, bolstered by tariff-driven capital flows, might further depress BTC prices, as investors flee to safe havens like gold or cash.
Trump’s post dampened a bullish mood in Asian hours, with majors showing a brief sell-off. XRP and SOL fell 2%, ether (ETH) and BNB Chain’s BNB remained little-changed, while dogecoin (DOGE) retracted gains from a 3.5% move higher in the past 24 hours.
SUI shines, analysts remain bullish
Outside of the top ten tokens by market cap, Sui Network’s SUI posted a 7% surge ahead of the Walrus Network, a data availability protocol built on Sui, going live on mainnet later Thursday.
Meanwhile, some say Asian developments could provide a catalyst for bitcoin prices amid U.S. focused headwinds.
“While US regulators begin to cut back on restrictive policies, institutions in Asia have been making waves by releasing new funds, products, and innovations that have been supported by pro-crypto regulations in key jurisdictions,” Jupiter Zheng, partner at HashKey Capital, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message.
“The next leg of the bull market may find its footing in Asia as the center for growth in the industry,” Zheng added.
BTSE’s Jeff Mei had a more optimistic view as of Thursday morning.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have recovered over the last few days, even as stock markets dropped in response to US President Trump’s announcement of auto tariffs. This shows that the worst could be over for crypto markets this year, and that we could see an upward trajectory in prices as US inflation fears subside and as we move closer towards rate cuts,” Mei said in a Telegram message.
Traders are eyeing the release of upcoming Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data on March 28, which influences Fed interest rate decisions.