Crypto Daybook Americas: PumpSwap Brings in the Cash as Trump Tariffs Hang Over Bitcoin
With trade tensions escalating, Asian and European stocks extended last week’s declines. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4%, taking it into correction territory after dropping more than 10% from its record high and European indexes including the FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 opened in the red alongside falling U.S. stock futures.
The backdrop is President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, set to be revealed to the world on April 2 in an event he has dubbed “Liberation Day.” The president plans to impose levies and tariffs on any country deemed to have an unfair trading relationship with the U.S.
“You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” Trump said, according to the Financial Times. His words suggest that while the tariffs may initially apply broadly, he is open to making concessions for some countries, the FT said.
On Friday, U.S. equities dropped after a hotter-than-expected reading in core PCE inflation, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. Market uncertainty may persist with the U.S. jobs report due Friday. Economists forecast the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2%, while nonfarm payrolls are projected at 128,000, down from 151,000 the previous month.
Gold is rallying on the back of this uncertainty, surging past $3,100 per ounce for the first time ever — up 1.2% on the day and nearly 20% year-to-date. Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC) continues to struggle, hovering just above $80,000. It’s down more than 3% this month and 12% for the quarter, marking its worst performance since fourth-quarter 2022.
Then consider ether (ETH). The second-largest cryptocurrency has performed significantly worse than bitcoin this quarter, losing 46% in a slide that’s the worst since 2018. As a result, the ether-to-bitcoin ratio has dropped to 0.02195, marking its lowest level since May 2020. At that time, bitcoin was trading below $10,000, while ether hovered just above $200. Stay alert!
BY: James Van Straten, Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Sheldon Reback
