US President Donald Trump declared a 100% tariff on China on Friday, causing Bitcoin (BTC) prices to plummet below $110,000 at the time of this report.
Trump stated that the tariffs were a reaction to China imposing export restrictions on rare earth minerals, critical for producing computer chips. In a Truth Social post, Trump noted:
“It has just been learned that China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade in sending an extremely hostile letter to the World, stating that they were going to, effective November 1, 2025, impose large-scale Export Controls on virtually every product they make.”
The initial tariff announcements by Trump in April shocked crypto markets, leading to recession fears.
Bitcoin declines to $102,000, hitting a 3-month low
Following Trump’s announcement, Bitcoin’s BTC/USDT futures on Binance fell as low as $102,000, a level not seen since late June when it dipped below $100,000.
Bitcoin spot prices at Coinbase reached an intraday low of $107,000, while data from CoinGlass indicated $9.40 billion in total crypto market positions liquidated over the past 24 hours, including $7.15 billion in leveraged longs.
The wider crypto market also suffered significant losses, with Ether (ETH) dropping to $3,500 on Coinbase and SOL (SOL) falling below $140 in its futures contract on Binance. Analysts at Hyblock Capital remarked,
”Global 2x leverage on most altcoins was totally wiped out.”
Tariff pressure and access to chips
Rare earth elements are vital for semiconductor production. By threatening to restrict access to crucial materials, China puts pressure on the global hardware supply chain, impacting AI, high-performance computing, and crypto mining infrastructure.
At the same time, US measures aimed at Chinese tech exports and investments are part of a broader strategy to reduce dependence on foreign manufacturing.
Following the tariff announcement, broader crypto markets turned down, with Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) experiencing further declines alongside Bitcoin, falling 12% and 14%, respectively, at the time of this report.
The global crypto market capitalization currently stands at $3.64 trillion, reflecting an 11.80% drop over the last 24 hours.
Related: The 2025 US-China trade war
Additional reporting by Ana Paula Pereira. This is a developing story, and more information will be added as it becomes available.
