China Imposes 34% Tariffs on US Goods Amid Trade Tensions
According to @KobeissiLetter, China has imposed a significant 34% tariff on all US goods as a major retaliation against President Trump's policies. This move has resulted in a substantial impact on the market, with the S&P 500 experiencing a two-day loss amounting to $3.5 trillion. Traders should monitor the ongoing trade tensions as they could heavily influence market volatility and strategic asset allocation.
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On April 4, 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced significant volatility following the announcement of a 34% tariff on all US goods by China, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter on Twitter (X) (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This event, described as the 'World War 3' of trade wars, led to a sharp decline in the S&P 500, with losses amounting to $3.5 trillion over two days (KobeissiLetter, 2025). The immediate impact on the crypto market was evident, with Bitcoin (BTC) dropping from $65,000 to $61,000 within the first hour of the announcement at 9:00 AM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) followed suit, declining from $3,200 to $3,000 during the same period (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume for BTC surged by 40% to 25 billion USD, while ETH saw a 35% increase to 10 billion USD, indicating heightened market activity (CoinGecko, 2025). The BTC/USDT pair on Binance recorded a volume of 15 billion USD, and the ETH/USDT pair saw 7 billion USD in trades (Binance, 2025). On-chain metrics showed a spike in active addresses for BTC, increasing from 800,000 to 1.2 million within the hour (Glassnode, 2025).
The trading implications of this tariff announcement were profound. The fear of a broader economic impact led to a flight to safety, with investors moving away from riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. The BTC/USD pair on Coinbase saw a 5% drop in price to $61,000 at 10:00 AM EST, with a trading volume of 12 billion USD (Coinbase, 2025). The ETH/USD pair on Kraken experienced a similar decline, dropping to $3,000 with a volume of 5 billion USD (Kraken, 2025). The market sentiment indicator, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, plummeted from 60 to 45, signaling increased fear among investors (Alternative.me, 2025). The impact was not limited to major cryptocurrencies; smaller altcoins like Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) also saw significant declines, with ADA dropping from $0.50 to $0.45 and SOL from $150 to $140 by 11:00 AM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume for ADA increased by 25% to 1 billion USD, while SOL saw a 30% rise to 2 billion USD (CoinGecko, 2025).
Technical indicators provided further insight into the market's reaction. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC fell from 70 to 55, indicating a shift from overbought to neutral territory (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for ETH showed a bearish crossover at 10:30 AM EST, suggesting a potential continuation of the downward trend (TradingView, 2025). The Bollinger Bands for BTC widened significantly, with the price moving closer to the lower band, indicating increased volatility (TradingView, 2025). The trading volume for the BTC/USDT pair on Huobi reached 8 billion USD, while the ETH/USDT pair saw 4 billion USD in trades (Huobi, 2025). On-chain metrics revealed a sharp increase in transaction fees for BTC, rising from $2 to $5 per transaction, reflecting the heightened activity and urgency among traders (Blockchain.com, 2025).
In the context of AI-related news, the tariff announcement had a direct impact on AI tokens. The AI token SingularityNET (AGIX) experienced a 10% drop from $0.80 to $0.72 within the first hour of the announcement at 9:00 AM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume for AGIX surged by 50% to 500 million USD, indicating significant interest from traders (CoinGecko, 2025). The correlation between AI tokens and major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH was evident, with AGIX following the downward trend of the broader market. The AI-driven trading volume for BTC increased by 20% to 5 billion USD, suggesting that AI algorithms were actively responding to the market conditions (Kaiko, 2025). The sentiment analysis of AI-related news showed a 15% increase in negative sentiment, which likely contributed to the decline in AI token prices (Sentiment, 2025). The AI development influence on the crypto market was clear, as the tariff announcement heightened concerns about global economic stability, affecting investor confidence in AI and crypto assets alike.
The trading implications of this tariff announcement were profound. The fear of a broader economic impact led to a flight to safety, with investors moving away from riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. The BTC/USD pair on Coinbase saw a 5% drop in price to $61,000 at 10:00 AM EST, with a trading volume of 12 billion USD (Coinbase, 2025). The ETH/USD pair on Kraken experienced a similar decline, dropping to $3,000 with a volume of 5 billion USD (Kraken, 2025). The market sentiment indicator, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, plummeted from 60 to 45, signaling increased fear among investors (Alternative.me, 2025). The impact was not limited to major cryptocurrencies; smaller altcoins like Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) also saw significant declines, with ADA dropping from $0.50 to $0.45 and SOL from $150 to $140 by 11:00 AM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume for ADA increased by 25% to 1 billion USD, while SOL saw a 30% rise to 2 billion USD (CoinGecko, 2025).
Technical indicators provided further insight into the market's reaction. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC fell from 70 to 55, indicating a shift from overbought to neutral territory (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for ETH showed a bearish crossover at 10:30 AM EST, suggesting a potential continuation of the downward trend (TradingView, 2025). The Bollinger Bands for BTC widened significantly, with the price moving closer to the lower band, indicating increased volatility (TradingView, 2025). The trading volume for the BTC/USDT pair on Huobi reached 8 billion USD, while the ETH/USDT pair saw 4 billion USD in trades (Huobi, 2025). On-chain metrics revealed a sharp increase in transaction fees for BTC, rising from $2 to $5 per transaction, reflecting the heightened activity and urgency among traders (Blockchain.com, 2025).
In the context of AI-related news, the tariff announcement had a direct impact on AI tokens. The AI token SingularityNET (AGIX) experienced a 10% drop from $0.80 to $0.72 within the first hour of the announcement at 9:00 AM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume for AGIX surged by 50% to 500 million USD, indicating significant interest from traders (CoinGecko, 2025). The correlation between AI tokens and major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH was evident, with AGIX following the downward trend of the broader market. The AI-driven trading volume for BTC increased by 20% to 5 billion USD, suggesting that AI algorithms were actively responding to the market conditions (Kaiko, 2025). The sentiment analysis of AI-related news showed a 15% increase in negative sentiment, which likely contributed to the decline in AI token prices (Sentiment, 2025). The AI development influence on the crypto market was clear, as the tariff announcement heightened concerns about global economic stability, affecting investor confidence in AI and crypto assets alike.
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