Trump has announced a 10% tariff imposed on all goods coming into the United States
It’s official folks: U.S. President Donald Trump has slapped THE ENTIRE WORLD with tariffs, and the markets don’t like it. At all.
Last Wednesday, Trump announced a 10% tariff imposed on all goods coming into the United States, effective as of this Saturday, in a bid to support domestic manufacturing.
He also announced a slew of “reciprocal” tariffs against countries taxing US exports, including a whopping 34% additional tariff on China, 20% on the European Union, 26% for India, and other similar consequences for 80 countries. There’s also a 25% auto parts tariff, and a 25% tariff on Venezuela and any country buying their oil and gas.
Tariffs, like any tax, hurt economic activity. For the world’s global economic superpower to blast the world with a new tax discouraging global trade is really bad for the economy. Naturally, every equity you can name was sent plummeting.
Even oil prices saw their steepest losses since 2022 last Thursday.
With markets universally bleeding, surely bitcoin would be in shambles, correct?
Well, not exactly.
Bitcoin’s tariff reaction caught everyone by surprise. While everything else crashed, bitcoin held its own surprisingly well, only dipping from CA$124,400 to $119,300 heading into the weekend.
Bitcoin has correlated with major stock market movements for years – often with a multiple of volatility next to it. To see BTC so stable in light of the markets around it had many bitcoiners believing a great “decoupling” had finally taken place – where large players would finally start trading bitcoin as the “safe haven” it is fundamentally designed as, rather than like other “risk assets.”
But sadly, those calls may have been premature.
On Sunday evening, the bleeding finally began for BTC. It plummeted to CAD $110,000 – its lowest price since November 10, shortly after Trump was elected as President.
The irony is great: bitcoin pumped post election due to expectations of pro crypto policies from Trump that would boost the asset’s value. While he quickly followed through on those promises – even delivering a strategic bitcoin reserve – his tariff policy is taking wind right out of the sails of the bull market.
Does this mean bitcoin has marked its top this cycle? Or is this just the “dump” before the ultimate “pump”? Anthony Pompliano believes it’s the latter.
“The stock market is transferring wealth from the impatient to the patient over the last few days,” he tweeted Sunday.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said much the same, predicting that Tariffs will only result in governments flipping on the money printers.. “Some of y’all are running scurred, but I LOVE TARIFFS,” he tweeted Thursday. “Global imbalances will be corrected, and the pain papered over with printed money, which is good for BTC.”
Finally, Strategy’s Michael Saylor was sure to remind the world that bitcoin fixes the exact problem they are worried about. “There are no tariffs on Bitcoin,” he tweeted.
Happy Birthday, Satoshi Nakamoto – Bitcoin’s Mysterious Visionary Turns 50
Last Thursday marked what many in the Bitcoin community celebrated as Satoshi Nakamoto’s 50th birthday, based on the birthdate listed in the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator’s P2P Foundation profile: April 5, 1975.
While Satoshi’s true identity remains Bitcoin’s greatest mystery, his legacy thrives through Bitcoin, now a trillion-dollar asset revolutionizing the world of finance and money as we know it.
Satoshi’s last known communication was in 2011, leaving the project to a growing community of developers and believers. Some believe he remains the largest bitcoin whale, holding 1.1 million BTC to his name – though others think these coins are lost, and that Satoshi either threw away his keys long ago or that he is no longer alive.
Whether Satoshi is watching Bitcoin from the shadows or not, his vision of decentralized, trustless money endures, proving that ideas can outlive their creators. Happy birthday, Satoshi—wherever you are.
The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.
—Satoshi Nakamoto
GameStop CEO’s $10.7M Stock Buy Signals Bitcoin Ambitions
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen made headlines again this week, purchasing US$10.7 million in GME stock amid speculation of a broader Bitcoin strategy for the gaming retailer.
The move follows Cohen’s vocal support for integrating bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for GameStop, with the company proposing a US$1.3 billion bond raise to buy BTC.
Cohen’s stake reflects confidence in the company’s pivot toward bitcoin, meaning he truly could be as dedicated to the bitcoin strategy as Saylor is – a crucial selling point for GME stock as a bitcoin proxy going forward.
The stock surged 8% post-announcement, fuelled by retail investor hype echoing the 2021 meme-stock frenzy. As more traditional firms eye Bitcoin’s disruptive potential, all eyes remain on Cohen and GameStop.
Stay humble,
Andrew
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