Bitcoin falls from $111K peak as Trump proposes steep tariffs on the EU and Apple.
The cryptocurrency market recorded losses on Friday, May 23, with Bitcoin pulling back from its all-time high, following President Donald Trump’s latest comments escalating trade war tensions.
After reaching a new all-time high of $111,000 on Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) is now trading 2.3% lower at $108,900.
Ethereum (ETH) also retreated, dropping 3.5% in the past 24 hours to trade at $2,577 while XRP decreased 2.3% to $2.38. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) bucked the trend, rising by 1.4% to $182.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased sharply by over 4% on the day to $3.55 trillion. Leveraged liquidations amounted to $564 million, according to CoinGlass, with BTC accounting for approximately $153 million. This was followed by ETH with around $143 million.
Meanwhile, on May 22, U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their highest combined daily inflows since January, attracting over $1 billion.
Spot BTC ETFs attracted approximately $935 million in inflows, the highest daily inflow since April, while Ethereum ETFs recorded a solid $111 million. On May 21, spot ETH ETFs recorded a multi-month record high inflow of $587.13K.
Trump’s Trade War
Experts attribute Friday’s market losses to President Donald Trump’s latest remarks, in which he threatened to impose new tariffs on Apple iPhones and all goods imported from the European Union.
Trump announced in a post on Truth Social this morning that he is recommending a 50% tariff on the EU starting June 1. He also threatened a 25% tariff on Apple if the company does not move iPhone production to the U.S.
Specifically, the president criticized the EU’s “powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more.” He further claimed that this had “led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable.”
“The announcement seems to have triggered a market reaction. Bitcoin saw a dip to $108K within the last hour, and we’re seeing similar volatility in the S&P 500,” said Nicolai Søndergaard, a research analyst at Nansen. He continued:
“Markets, particularly higher-risk assets, tend to respond swiftly to geopolitical and trade-related headlines, even when the long-term impact remains uncertain.”
For now, Søndergaard explained, the market reaction appears to be a temporary disruption rather than a lasting shift – but it highlights how sensitive risk assets are to policy announcements, especially given the current macroeconomic climate.
“I don’t expect these tariffs to actually materialize,” he said. “Rather, this move seems intended to influence ongoing discussions, possibly signaling that negotiations are not progressing as intended.”
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