Bitcoin dropped back under the $65,000 mark on Thursday as Donald Trump’s administration unveiled sweeping new tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, unsettling global markets and triggering a fresh wave of selling in cryptocurrencies.
The administration confirmed duties of between 10% and 12.5% would be imposed on countries accounting for more than 99% of U.S. trade, with the measures due to take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday. They will replace a temporary 10% global tariff that had been scheduled to expire the same day, according to CNBC.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said the move was tied to what it views as weak enforcement by other countries against goods produced with forced labour. A senior administration figure described the package as the most extensive labour-rights-focused trade action ever taken by any nation.
Bitcoin hit an intraday low of $64,985 on Thursday, 23 July, before briefly reclaiming the $65,000 threshold. Data from crypto.news showed the world’s largest cryptocurrency down around 1.5% over 24 hours, with its market capitalisation close to $1.3tn.
Any recovery above $65,000 proved short-lived once investors absorbed the scale of the tariff plan. Short-term charts recorded a succession of bearish candles during the slide, while data provider CoinGlass reported a rise in liquidations of leveraged long positions as traders reacted to yet another risk-off jolt.
Risk assets under pressure
The announcement landed during a bruising session for risk assets more broadly. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 2.2% to a four-week low, the S&P 500 shed 1.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by roughly 507 points.
Bitcoin had already been on the back foot earlier in the day amid mounting tensions between the United States and Iran. Al Jazeera reported that President Donald Trump had threatened an unprecedented “massive attack” on Iran as military exchanges continued across the region, adding to the sense of geopolitical unease.
At the same time, fresh U.S. labour-market data prompted traders to reassess the outlook for interest rates. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped by 22,000 to 187,000 in the week ending 18 July – the lowest reading since September 1969.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected claims to rise to 212,000. Continuing claims fell by 2,000 to 1.796 million, suggesting layoffs remain limited despite slower hiring and ongoing uncertainty around trade policy.
Stronger employment figures can reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut, or even keep from raising, interest rates, because they indicate the economy is coping with higher borrowing costs. Reuters reported that interest-rate futures markets began to price in the possibility of a Fed rate increase by September, with rising oil prices further stoking inflation concerns.
Treasury yields climbed alongside those expectations. Investors Business Daily said the yield on the 10-year note moved up to about 4.70%. Higher bond yields tend to be a headwind for cryptocurrencies, as they increase the returns available on traditional, lower-risk assets relative to Bitcoin.
Leverage wiped out as BTC rally stalls
Leveraged traders bore the brunt of Bitcoin’s pullback. CoinGlass data showed 62,869 crypto traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching around $162m. Separate figures from Coinalyze put Bitcoin-specific liquidations at roughly $28.7m, including about $26.2m in long positions.
The slide came only days after Bitcoin had pushed toward $67,000 earlier in the week. BTC was closing in on a seven-week high on 21 July despite the deteriorating situation with Iran and the looming tariff decision, but buyers failed to sustain that move as macroeconomic pressures increased.
For now, CoinGecko data places Bitcoin trading close to $65,000 once again, leaving that level as the immediate battleground for bulls after the latest bout of selling.
Section 301 tariffs target forced-labour enforcement
The administration has implemented the tariffs using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a mechanism that allows Washington to respond to trade practices it deems unfair. This legal route is distinct from the emergency powers used for an earlier set of tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down in February.
Under the new measures, tariff rates will vary depending on USTR assessments of how far each partner has gone in limiting imports linked to forced labour.
Countries and territories judged to have taken partial steps or made formal commitments will face a 10% rate. USTR documentation lists Canada, Mexico, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Argentina and a number of Southeast Asian and Latin American economies in this group.
A higher rate of 12.5% will apply to partners seen as having made less progress, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has argued that weak enforcement overseas forces American workers to compete with goods associated with abusive labour conditions.
Key exemptions and revenue uncertainty
Several major product categories will remain outside the scope of the new tariffs. Reuters reported that crude oil, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, rare-earth materials, aircraft parts and certain food items will be exempt, while products already covered by Section 232 tariffs will not be subject to additional charges.
Canadian and Mexican goods that meet the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will also avoid the new duties. Officials said the fresh steel and aluminium tariffs would not be layered on top of existing national-security measures.
The USTR has yet to release an estimate of how much revenue the tariff package might generate, CNBC reported. Trading partners could in theory secure lower rates by tightening their own import rules against forced-labour goods, though officials noted that no country currently enforces a complete ban.
For Bitcoin, the tariff move has added an extra layer of trade anxiety to a session already shaped by geopolitical risk, firmer labour data, rising oil prices and higher U.S. yields – a combination that has once again left the cryptocurrency struggling to hold above $65,000.
