The threat by US President Donald Trump to impose a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries from February 1 triggered a sharp 3.6% drop in Bitcoin, pushing the price below $92,000. Trump said the rate would rise to 25% from June 1 if no agreement on the purchase of Greenland is reached.
The decline in Bitcoin triggered liquidations totaling more than $865 million across the crypto market. About $600 million of those liquidations were long positions, cleared as traders cut leverage.
Roughly 90% of the liquidations came from investors who had bet on the continuation of the prior week’s upward trend. A further price action for Bitcoin now hinges on a breakout of critical levels. Thus, a move above $94,600 would indicate the correction has ended, while a break below $90,000 would signal a bear trend.
Trump has justified the tariffs as necessary for acquiring Greenland on national security grounds. Conservative estimates put the cost of the deal at $700 billion, and the tariffs would affect trade flows of about $1.2 trillion.
History shows Bitcoin is highly sensitive to Trump’s tariff actions. From February to April 2025, when tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods were in force, Bitcoin fell 27.5% but recovered after those tariffs were suspended.
Yuri Saveliev, an analyst at Happy Coin News, says Bitcoin could fall to $70,000 or lower if the tariffs remain in place. Market observers consider the current decline to be temporary.