The United States' tariff war and federal job cuts continue to impact the markets and economy, dragging cryptocurrencies down for a second day on March 11. Bitcoin is at its lowest level since Donald Trump won the US election in November.
The world's largest cryptocurrency was at $79,039.34 on Tuesday morning, down 3.31 percent from the previous day and 18.35 percent over the past month.
The slump is more significant as most major cryptos, including Bitcoin, soared last week after Donald Trump kept his poll promise and signed an executive order forming a crypto reserve for the US.
On March 10, Bitcoin was down more than 5.47 percent to $81,712, but the one-day slide has since been reduced to 3.31 percent. It is also down around 28 percent from the record high of $109,241.
Since February 2025, investors have drawn out around $4.4 billion from US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Overall, the crypto market has lost more than $1 trillion in market capitalisation from its peak.
Crypto-linked stocks also slumped — Coinbase Global fell 18 percent — its biggest decline since July 2022, and Michael Saylor’s levered Bitcoin proxy Strategy lost 17 percent.
An expert on cryptocurrencies noted that while Donald Trump's crypto reserve announcement “initially drove optimism, the rally quickly unraveled amid aggressive selling linked to worsening macro conditions.”
When faced with macroeconomic challenges that threaten the stability of risky investments, Donald Trump's “crypto-friendly” stance has had little impact on market sentiment towards cryptos.
Escalating tariff-war tensions and uncertainties in the US economy have shaken high-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies. In fact, investors flocked to Treasury offerings, seeking safe haven as the stock markets also slid, the report noted.
Another expert pointed out that that while investors are more keen on crypto given the Trump administration's push for it, other factors are “more nuanced or even negative”.
“The apparent capricious favouritism in the administration’s selection of assets for the strategic reserve — especially after the launching of Trump and Melania coins — is a strong deterrent to investors. It’s created the impression that the Trump administration is engaged in lobbying based selection and promotion of ‘insider’ assets, and that the cryptocurrency market today is largely a short-term trading casino,” he added.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)
