Crypto Daybook Americas: Trump's Looming Tariff Escalation Fails to Rattle Bitcoin

  • February 10, 2025
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Crypto Daybook Americas: Trump's Looming Tariff Escalation Fails to Rattle Bitcoin

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Despite the increasing rhetoric surrounding President Donald Trump's tariffs, bitcoin (BTC) is holding steady alongside positive cues from foreign exchange risk barometers like AUD/JPY. Later today, Trump is due to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on top of additional metal duties.

This market stance ahead of an impending tariff escalation contrasts starkly with the risk aversion observed a week ago, when Trump fired the first tariff shot. Perhaps market participants think he's using aggressive tactics to negotiate trade deals rather than committing to sustained tariffs. This notion has gained traction following lat Monday's decision to suspend tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days, hinting at a more strategic approach to trade negotiations.

According to QCP Capital, the current market stability could embolden Trump to take a tougher stance. "A feedback loop is emerging — President Trump, highly sensitive to market reactions, is facing a market increasingly calling his bluff. This could embolden him further, adding another layer of volatility," QCP said in a Telegram broadcast.

It will be interesting to see how this develops.

There's a social media post doing the rounds that shows record open short positions in the CME-listed cash-settled ether futures. Those shorts are not necessarily outright bearish bets and are likely components of carry trades, where investors hold long positions in ETFs while shorting CME futures. Note that the ETH ETF inflows surged last week. It's possible some of the shorts are investors hedging against long altcoin bets amid concerns over the number of coins and impending large unlocks.

Over the weekend, Base member Kabir.Base.eth refuted claims that the sequencer Coinbase had been selling ETH earned as fees, adding a layer of transparency to its operations.

In another notable development, Archange Touadéra, president of the Central African Republic, reportedly issued a new memecoin that saw a trader turn $5,000 into an astonishing $12 million in less than three hours, achieving a remarkable return of 2,450x, according to LookOnChain data.

Meanwhile, litecoin (LTC) continues to shine as the top-performing cryptocurrency of the past 24 hours, up 9%.

On the macroeconomic front, the surge in the U.S. consumer inflation expectations raises concerns about the likelihood of a prolonged pause in Federal Reserve's rate cuts. Plus, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is due for release on Wednesday. Stay alert!

OK