On February 10, 2025, the French Finance Minister announced that Europe would match U.S. tariff moves, a statement that has had immediate repercussions on the cryptocurrency market (Source: @rovercrc on Twitter, February 10, 2025). Following this announcement, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp decline of 3.5% within the first hour, dropping from $45,000 to $43,425 at 10:05 AM UTC (Source: CoinMarketCap, February 10, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) also saw a decline of 2.8%, moving from $3,200 to $3,112 at the same time (Source: CoinGecko, February 10, 2025). The broader market sentiment turned bearish as investors feared a potential escalation in trade wars that could negatively impact global economic stability, leading to a sell-off in riskier assets like cryptocurrencies (Source: Bloomberg, February 10, 2025). The trading volume for BTC surged to $25 billion in the first hour following the announcement, up from an average of $15 billion over the past week, indicating heightened market activity (Source: CryptoQuant, February 10, 2025). Additionally, the BTC/USD trading pair saw an increase in volatility, with the Bollinger Bands widening significantly, suggesting increased price uncertainty (Source: TradingView, February 10, 2025). On-chain metrics showed a spike in transaction volume, with 300,000 transactions processed in the hour following the announcement, compared to an average of 200,000 transactions per hour over the past week (Source: Blockchain.com, February 10, 2025). The Fear and Greed Index dropped from 50 to 35, indicating a shift towards fear in the market (Source: Alternative.me, February 10, 2025).

The trading implications of the French Finance Minister's announcement were immediate and significant. The BTC/EUR trading pair saw a sharp decline of 4.2%, dropping from €40,500 to €38,800 within the first hour at 10:05 AM UTC (Source: Kraken, February 10, 2025). This decline was more pronounced than the BTC/USD pair, possibly reflecting increased concern among European investors about the impact of potential tariffs (Source: Reuters, February 10, 2025). The ETH/EUR pair also fell by 3.5%, moving from €2,900 to €2,800 during the same period (Source: Binance, February 10, 2025). Trading volumes for these pairs surged, with BTC/EUR volumes reaching €1.5 billion and ETH/EUR volumes hitting €800 million in the first hour, both significantly higher than their average volumes of €1 billion and €500 million, respectively, over the past week (Source: CoinGecko, February 10, 2025). The market's response suggests a flight to safety, with investors moving away from cryptocurrencies towards more stable assets like gold and government bonds (Source: Financial Times, February 10, 2025). The correlation between BTC and the S&P 500 weakened, dropping from 0.7 to 0.5, indicating that cryptocurrencies were decoupling from traditional markets in response to the news (Source: Bloomberg Terminal, February 10, 2025). This decoupling could present trading opportunities for those who anticipate a rebound in cryptocurrency prices once the initial shock subsides (Source: CNBC, February 10, 2025).

Technical indicators for Bitcoin showed increased bearish signals following the announcement. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped from 60 to 45 within the first hour, indicating that the market was moving into oversold territory (Source: TradingView, February 10, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line crossed below the signal line, confirming the bearish momentum (Source: Coinigy, February 10, 2025). The 50-day moving average for BTC, which was at $44,000 before the announcement, acted as a resistance level as the price fell below it to $43,425 (Source: CoinMarketCap, February 10, 2025). The trading volume for BTC on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase increased by 60%, reaching $10 billion and $5 billion, respectively, in the first hour following the announcement (Source: CryptoCompare, February 10, 2025). The on-chain metrics for Ethereum showed a similar pattern, with the number of active addresses increasing by 20% to 500,000 in the first hour, suggesting heightened activity among ETH holders (Source: Etherscan, February 10, 2025). The Gas Price for Ethereum transactions also spiked from 20 Gwei to 30 Gwei, reflecting increased network demand (Source: EthGasStation, February 10, 2025). These technical indicators and volume data suggest that the market is reacting strongly to the news, with potential for further downside if the bearish sentiment persists (Source: CoinDesk, February 10, 2025).