Bitget App
Trade smarter
Buy cryptoMarketsTradeFuturesCopyBotsEarn
Ether and altcoins plunge over 20% following Trump tariffs

Ether and altcoins plunge over 20% following Trump tariffs

GrafaGrafa2025/02/03 12:30
By:Liezl Gambe

Ether (CRYPTO:ETH) and several major altcoins have experienced significant declines, dropping over 20% within a 23-hour period as the cryptocurrency market reacts to U.S. President Donald Trump's newly imposed tariffs.

On February 3, Ether fell sharply by 16% in just one hour, dropping to $2,368 before recovering slightly to $2,521.

Despite this recovery, Ether remains down 38% from its 2024 high of $4,078 reached on December 17.

Other cryptocurrencies also faced severe losses, with Avalanche (CRYPTO:AVAX), XRP (CRYPTO:XRP), Chainlink (CRYPTO:LINK), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE) all recording drops exceeding 20%.

This downturn contributed to an overall 11.4% decrease in the cryptocurrency market capitalization, which now stands at approximately $3.17 trillion.

Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, noted that the sharp decline in altcoins reflects a combination of stop-loss triggers and a lack of buying interest from retail investors.

He pointed out that trading volumes had been declining in recent weeks, indicating a diminishing appetite for risk among traders.

While the market was aware of the potential for tariffs, they were not fully priced in due to investor focus on recent news developments.

Thielen warned that the market could face prolonged uncertainty rather than a brief shock, depending on the performance of U.S. equities.

In addition to the cryptocurrency sell-off, Nasdaq futures fell nearly 2.7%, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also experiencing declines of 2% and 1.5%, respectively.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped significantly into the "Fear" zone with a score of 44, reflecting heightened anxiety among investors.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) also saw a decline of 6.8%, trading around $94,743 after touching lows near $91,300 earlier in the day.

Thielen observed that rising Bitcoin dominance—up from approximately 61.1% to around 64%—suggests that risk-averse traders are moving away from altcoins in favor of Bitcoin as a safer asset during this turbulent period.

At the time of reporting, the Ethereum (ETH) price was $2,592.23.

0

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

PoolX: Locked for new tokens.
APR up to 10%. Always on, always get airdrop.
Lock now!

You may also like

Pump.Fun Sued for Securities Violations

Memecoin factory Pump.Fun is in hot water again, facing a fresh class action lawsuit alleging securities violations.

Altcoinbuzz2025/02/03 14:22

Cardano founder Wants US Budget on Blockchain

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has floated a bold idea

Altcoinbuzz2025/02/03 14:22