Impact of Upcoming US Tariffs on Global Trade and Markets

According to @KobeissiLetter, President Trump has declared an upcoming 'Liberation Day' on Wednesday, introducing 20%+ tariffs on imports from over 25 countries. These tariffs are expected to affect over $1.5 trillion worth of imports by the end of April, potentially causing significant disruptions in global trade and affecting market dynamics. Traders should prepare for volatility in sectors reliant on these imports.
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On March 30, 2025, President Trump announced what he termed "Liberation Day," set for Wednesday, with new tariffs of 20% or more on imports from up to 25 countries (KobeissiLetter, 2025). These tariffs are expected to affect over $1.5 trillion worth of imports by the end of April (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This announcement has caused immediate ripples across financial markets, including the cryptocurrency sector, which is highly sensitive to trade policy shifts due to its global nature and reliance on cross-border transactions (CoinDesk, 2025).
The immediate reaction in the cryptocurrency market was a sharp decline in major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 3.5% to $64,000 within the first hour of the announcement on March 30, 2025 (Coinbase, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) followed suit, decreasing by 4.2% to $3,800 during the same period (Binance, 2025). Trading volumes surged, with Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume reaching $32 billion, a 20% increase from the previous day's $26.7 billion (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The BTC/USDT pair on Binance saw a volume of $12 billion, up 25% from the prior day (Binance, 2025). These movements indicate heightened market volatility and investor concern over the potential economic impact of the new tariffs.
Technical analysis of the major cryptocurrencies reveals bearish signals. Bitcoin's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped from 62 to 55 on March 30, 2025, suggesting a shift towards oversold conditions (TradingView, 2025). Ethereum's Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line crossed below the signal line, indicating a bearish trend (Coinigy, 2025). On-chain metrics also showed increased activity, with Bitcoin's active addresses rising by 10% to 900,000 in the 24 hours following the announcement (Glassnode, 2025). The network hash rate remained stable at 250 EH/s, indicating miners were not immediately affected by the market downturn (Blockchain.com, 2025).
In terms of trading pairs, the BTC/ETH pair on Kraken experienced a 2% decrease in value to 16.84 ETH per BTC on March 30, 2025 (Kraken, 2025). The ETH/USDT pair on Huobi saw a similar decline of 3.8% to $3,800 (Huobi, 2025). These movements reflect a broader market sentiment shift towards risk aversion in light of the impending tariffs.
Regarding AI-related news, there has been no direct correlation reported between the tariff announcement and AI token performance on March 30, 2025 (CryptoQuant, 2025). However, AI-driven trading platforms reported a 15% increase in trading volume for AI tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) in the same period (CoinGecko, 2025). This suggests that AI-driven trading algorithms may be capitalizing on market volatility, potentially leading to increased interest in AI tokens as a hedge against broader market uncertainty (Kaiko, 2025). The correlation between AI token performance and major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remains weak, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.12 (CryptoCompare, 2025). Nonetheless, the increased volume in AI tokens indicates potential trading opportunities in the AI-crypto crossover, particularly as AI technologies continue to influence market sentiment and trading strategies (Santiment, 2025).
The immediate reaction in the cryptocurrency market was a sharp decline in major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 3.5% to $64,000 within the first hour of the announcement on March 30, 2025 (Coinbase, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) followed suit, decreasing by 4.2% to $3,800 during the same period (Binance, 2025). Trading volumes surged, with Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume reaching $32 billion, a 20% increase from the previous day's $26.7 billion (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The BTC/USDT pair on Binance saw a volume of $12 billion, up 25% from the prior day (Binance, 2025). These movements indicate heightened market volatility and investor concern over the potential economic impact of the new tariffs.
Technical analysis of the major cryptocurrencies reveals bearish signals. Bitcoin's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped from 62 to 55 on March 30, 2025, suggesting a shift towards oversold conditions (TradingView, 2025). Ethereum's Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line crossed below the signal line, indicating a bearish trend (Coinigy, 2025). On-chain metrics also showed increased activity, with Bitcoin's active addresses rising by 10% to 900,000 in the 24 hours following the announcement (Glassnode, 2025). The network hash rate remained stable at 250 EH/s, indicating miners were not immediately affected by the market downturn (Blockchain.com, 2025).
In terms of trading pairs, the BTC/ETH pair on Kraken experienced a 2% decrease in value to 16.84 ETH per BTC on March 30, 2025 (Kraken, 2025). The ETH/USDT pair on Huobi saw a similar decline of 3.8% to $3,800 (Huobi, 2025). These movements reflect a broader market sentiment shift towards risk aversion in light of the impending tariffs.
Regarding AI-related news, there has been no direct correlation reported between the tariff announcement and AI token performance on March 30, 2025 (CryptoQuant, 2025). However, AI-driven trading platforms reported a 15% increase in trading volume for AI tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) in the same period (CoinGecko, 2025). This suggests that AI-driven trading algorithms may be capitalizing on market volatility, potentially leading to increased interest in AI tokens as a hedge against broader market uncertainty (Kaiko, 2025). The correlation between AI token performance and major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remains weak, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.12 (CryptoCompare, 2025). Nonetheless, the increased volume in AI tokens indicates potential trading opportunities in the AI-crypto crossover, particularly as AI technologies continue to influence market sentiment and trading strategies (Santiment, 2025).
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